Kill Her Tomorrow
by Anon465
Summary: Kankuro gets sent on a mission to the Land of Snow by Gaara to steal a scroll from a heavily guarded bank. Just when he thought the mission was going to be successful, things didn't go as planned when a normal village girl decides to do the unexpected.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hey guys. I got this idea from a movie I watched recently. I was inspired to write a story about Kankuro for some reason. I guess it's because there was never any mention of him having a love interest, so I get to play around a bit, I guess. Hope you like it ^^;**

"Enter," the familiar, serious voice of his brother called as Kankuro knocked on the door. He didn't know why he decided to knock. He usually just walked in, but when Temari told him the seriousness of the mission Gaara was to assign him, he felt like he should act differently.

As Kankuro walked into the Kazekage's office, his brother's office, he noticed himself looking around, observing the details of the office as if he's never seen it before. Maybe he was nervous? _No way._ Kankuro told himself. Missions never made him nervous. This was going to be another opportunity for him to improve his skills even more, maybe even try a new puppet he had fixed recently.

"Temari sent me here," he said to Gaara, finally looking at him. "She said you had an important mission to assign to me?"

"Yes," Gaara replied, shuffling through the papers on his desk. "There is an island within the Land of Snow. A nobleman from the Land of Snow informed me of a hidden scroll in the main bank of the island that originally belonged to his family long ago. It was stolen from him, and he is requesting the greatest shinobi that we have to obtain it back."

"I have to rob a bank?" Kankuro said, almost amused. He thought this mission was going to be challenging.

"This bank is within a powerful village with very strong shinobi. The bank is heavily guarded and protected, with many deadly traps. Any person can get fatally injured if they're not careful." Gaara retorted, seeing his brother's reaction. "You are one of the best shinobi we have, which is why I assigned this mission to you, and I have confidence that you will sneak into the village and obtain this scroll.

"Here is a detailed map of the Land of Snow, and its surrounding islands. I marked an X on the map where the village is located," Gaara said, opening up a piece of folded paper on his desk, pointing to the marked area.

The 'X' was on a large landmass, a bit more isolated than the other islands surrounding the mainland. Unlike the other islands, which bordered the bottom of the main land, this island was a bit farther up north than the others. Kankuro realized how far up north he would have to go, and imagined how long it would take for him to get to this land.

"Many important artifacts, scrolls, and technologies in the Land of Snow get sent to this bank for safekeeping due to its good reputation of assuring the safety of the many objects it holds." Gaara continued. "However, remember not to let the appearance of this bank fool you. From an outsider's perspective, it seems relatively normal and unguarded. The hidden objects are put away in a deeper part of the bank that many of the employees there are not aware of. The bank tellers in the front are normal villagers that only work with the currency of the nation. They are not aware of its secrets. It is up to you to find out where the location of the scroll is. The nobleman said this scroll can be identified by its green glow."

Kankuro nodded. Now this is a mission that sounds interesting. He was ready.

"Any more questions?" Gaara asked.

"I assume I'm not gonna be alone." Kankuro said, taking the map. This mission doesn't seem like one that would be successful done alone. If the bank had as many traps and high level shinobi as Gaara said, it seemed like he was going to need some assistance.

Gaara nodded. "I already informed your partners about this mission beforehand. I had to talk to you privately because they are not aware that the real goal is to get the scroll. They think we are to rob the bank for its currency. Your partners will be Rojikku and Kanjo. You will lead the mission."

"Why can't they know?" Kankuro asked. "Wouldn't that risk the mission failing if they lack information?"

"In this case, information will have to be withheld. The nobleman requested that the information about the scroll be kept top secret. So your partners will be used as a distraction. Any other questions?"

"No," Kankuro told Gaara.

"Very well. You shall leave for the Land of Snow tomorrow morning. Your partners will be waiting at the gates of Suna. You are dismissed."

Kankuro nodded, walking out of his office, going to get ready to pack his things. He figured he might be gone for a while. He would have to take a lot of warm clothes too. The weather up north was opposite of the weather in Suna. He heard it was cold…really cold. But he was confident, and he was ready. He was dying for something new. He was getting bored of Suna, and this was the perfect thing to keep him entertained.


	2. Big Trouble and Negotiations

**A/N: I see a lot of other writers do this, so I'll say that I don't own Naruto, as obvious as that is. I'm just doing this for fun in my spare time. On to the story…**

**Edit: I'm sorry if you've noticed I removed the chapter and put the chapter up again. I noticed that some things didn't go through, and I was fixing and organizing it.**

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep…_

_I don't want to wake up._

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

_Fuck. I really don't want to wake up. Five more minutes…_

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEEEEP._

Mimi groaned, shoving the pillow over her head in frustration at the alarm that seemed to be getting louder the longer she ignored it. Losing her patience, she threw the pillow towards her night table, the alarm crashing to the floor. Well, at least it stopped beeping.

Throwing her legs over to the side of her bed, she threw her arms up in the air as she sat up, stretching. Kicking the alarm clock out of the way, she walked toward her window, climbing out onto the fire escape. The weather was cool and crisp, as always. She grabbed a loose cigarette that was sitting on the windowsill, lighting it with her lighter that was next to the cigarette, inhaling as the cold air soothed her lungs. The smoke faded away into the permanent winter breeze with the fog of her breath as she exhaled. Taking a deep breath, she looked around, surprised it didn't snow for the past two weeks, so her fire escape wasn't piled up with snow.

Sitting on the steps of the fire escape, she sighed as yesterday's events finally hit her full force. Thinking about it just made her want to jump back in her bed and bury herself in her blankets for eternity. Finishing her cigarette, she tossed the rest of it, stumbling back inside her apartment, stripping off her pajamas and throwing herself in her bathtub, turning on the faucet to let the shower hit her face.

She couldn't believe it…she was single, humiliated, and alone once again. More humiliated than anything. She wasn't sure if it really sunk in yet. She was so used to having Yujiro around. The year they've been together…she had put so much in their relationship, for all of it to go down the drain yesterday. A whole year wasted. The whole thing a huge lie. He didn't love her, even though he said it. He didn't care for her, even though he told her that. He even had a smirk on his face when she walked into his office and saw him with some other girl she never saw before; her complete opposite. She was tall, blonde, curvy...and there she was, skinny, and standing at four feet eleven. She couldn't decide whether to feel more hurt or more angry. Hurt at the betrayal, or angry that he completely wasted her time, angry that she really thought their relationship was…_going_ somewhere. He didn't take it seriously at all, and that made her feel stupid that she even decided to be in a relationship in the first place.

And as she got out the shower, staring at herself in the mirror, it sunk in that she had to go to work today, and look like a complete idiot in front of her boss, because he wasn't her boyfriend anymore. If the job didn't pay so well she would have just quit, but she can't quit. That would mean he won. She had to suck it up and go back to do her job. Maybe she could start looking for work somewhere else and resign when she got an offer. But to just quit? No, she couldn't do that.

She sighed, starting to brush her teeth, and combed her tangled hair afterward, giving up halfway through. She wanted to pull all her hair out in frustration with…life, herself…everything. Was it even worth living? Just waking up every day, dealing with stupid people, trying to find a purpose in why she even wakes up every day to go to work. Throwing her hair in a messy ponytail, annoyed, she threw on her clothes for work, wearing all black to not bother with trying to match anything.

"At least I still have you, Utahime," Mimi said to her betta fish, before noticing the way he peacefully drifted along the top of the bowl.

"Shit," Mimi said, sighing. Well, there goes that.

She slumped on her bed, lighting another cigarette, eventually putting her head in her hands, screaming at the top of her lungs in frustration.

* * *

"There's the gates to the village," Rojikku said, looking at the gates that seemed to rival the height of the bare trees next to it.

"About time. It took forever to get here," Kanjo said, looking ahead.

Kankuro agreed. Getting to the Land of Snow itself wasn't the issue, because after walking up north, you would have to go by boat the rest of the way to get to the Land of Snow. The issue was going through the terrain and extreme temperatures throughout the land to get to the village itself. Getting here was a mission all on its own. If it wasn't the almost constant blizzards, it was the wind that felt like it could slice your skin open. He much preferred the weather in the desert. Not even the nights in the desert could rival the low temperatures here. It was a miracle there were even trees around this area.

"I wonder how we're going to get inside," Rojikku said.

"Getting in through the front won't work," Kankuro said. "We're going to have to look for another way to get in."

"There are some trees taller than the village walls. Maybe we can find a way in from there," Rojikku suggested.

"Alright, we can do that. Let's use a jutsu to change our appearance. We have to be camouflage to our surroundings so the shinobi on guard won't spot anything out of the ordinary."

Rojikku and Kanjo nodded in unision, changing their suits into white clothing.

* * *

"So do I qualify for the loan?" A customer asked Mimi in anticipation.

Mimi shuffled through the customer's paperwork, reviewing the information that was provided. "Yeah, you qualify. You just have to sign some documents and everything should be ready for you."

"Thank you so much!" The woman said appreciatively.

Mimi gave the woman the documents to sign, sending her to one of the bank tellers in the front after asking if the woman had any more questions. She got up from her desk, walking toward the staircase to take an early break. She was getting annoyed at the looks and snickers she was getting from her coworkers. It was obvious word already got around about the breakup. She overheard one of them say "_I can't believe she didn't know this whole time, talk about denial!"_ They quickly ended their conversation when they saw her walk by. Lovely.

"Well you look like shit, Himitsu," a familiar voice said from behind her.

"Thanks," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. "You know I hate being called that."

"You know I just like messing with you."

"And other women, too," Mimi retorted sarcastically.

"I wanted to talk to you about that, actually," Yujiro said, nervously running his fingers through his chestnut hair.

"Save me the excuses, Yujiro. I really don't wanna hear it," Mimi said, beginning to walk away from him.

"You can't even hear me out?"

"There's nothing for you to explain. I just want to put this all behind us and we can both move on with our lives. Now can I take the rest of my break in peace?"

Yujiro scowled at her.

"Please?" She added. "Save me from more humiliation. Everyone was already laughing at me this morning."

He shook his head, walking away._ Thank goodness_, she thought, going up the stairs to the top floor.

* * *

"Right here's a good spot," Kankuro said to his teammates. "We can jump over the wall from here, and get a good view of the bank."

"How do you know that building's the bank?" Kanjo asked.

"Look in the windows, genius." Rojikku stated. "Though it seems heavily unguarded."

"Remember what Lord Kazekage said. It's going to look that way from the outside. The safe is well hidden." Kanjo added.

"Shouldn't we wait until the nighttime to do this, Kankuro?" Rojikku asked.

"It'll probably be more guarded than it is now. During the day, we have a better chance of getting in. Let's go." Kankuro said, the three of them jumping over the wall, onto a low building with snow on the top of it.

The three shinobi scouted the building, looking through each window if they saw something interesting. From the looks of it, the safe didn't seem to be anywhere in the building at all.

"Maybe we got the wrong building," Kanjo said.

"Or maybe the safe isn't _in_ the building, but under it," Kankuro suggested.

"You're right. But how will we be able to check?" Rojikku asked.

"Let's look around for people who look like shinobi. We'll follow them and see if they lead us somewhere." Kankuro ordered.

"Hey, what about that guy?" Kanjo said, spotting a muscular man in what seemed like a white fighting uniform.

"Good eye, Kanjo. Let's follow him. Hide your chakra if you haven't already." Kankuro ordered.

The man was walking toward the back of the bank. Eventually behind the building, the man walked toward a huge pile of snow that any other person would assume was just shoveled out the way. The man looked around quickly, making sure there was no one around. That was a clue. Kankuro saw the man do quick hand movements, eventually revealing that the huge pile of snow had an entrance.

"Whoa, I would have never suspected…" Kanjo whispered.

"This is it, guys. Go back to the front of the bank and cause a distraction," Kankuro ordered, changing his clothes back to his usual black attire. From the way it looked, it was pretty dark in there. His usual clothing would do him justice. "I'm going to follow this guy. Hopefully it'll lead me to the safe. Meet me outside the village wall where we entered later. I should be fine."

Rojikku and Kanjo nodded, leaving Kankuro alone. They knew he could handle this.

Kankuro stealthily snuck inside the door after the shinobi before it turned into a normal pile of snow again. The man was already at the end of a long hallway, taking a right. Kankuro quietly followed, getting himself ready for a fight if need be.

* * *

"What the hell," Rojikku said to Kanjo.

"Why is there a group of shinobi at the front of the bank? Do you think they already knew?" Kanjo asked.

"No, that's impossible…they can't be _that_ good…can they?" Rojikku said, looking at Kanjo in confusion. They were both still hiding.

"No, something else is going on. They're looking up at the top of the building," Kanjo said.

The two shinobi looked up, seeing a figure standing at the edge of the building.

"Who is that?" Kanjo asked.

"Looks like a woman…" Rojikku said.

Rojikku and Kanjo saw one shinobi dressed in white walk to the others standing in front of the bank already.

"What's the call for?" One of the shinobi dressed in white asked one of the other shinobi who was apparently there before him.

"Looks like a suicide jumper," The other shinobi replied. "We're going to get up to that woman on the roof."

"Great, now what are we gonna do?" Kanjo said, overhearing the conversation between the two snow shinobi. "This can get Kankuro caught in a second if they enter that bank! We don't know where that passageway leads!"

"We're gonna have to do this the hard way," Rojikku told Kanjo. "If we attract the attention to ourselves, they'll be preoccupied with us and overlook Kankuro."

"They seem distracted enough with that woman up on the roof." Kanjo said.

"But you don't want them to end up calling backup to catch Kankuro. We have to get them to call backup for us. The more shinobi after us, the less of them after Kankuro. Ready?" Rojikku said, getting his weapons ready.

"Ready."

* * *

Mimi lit up another cigarette on the roof, taking a swig of her small bottle of sake. She didn't drink much, but she had a feeling she was gonna need it today, so she bought a small bottle before she went to work in the morning. She didn't even smoke often, but they were starting to be her best friend.

The breeze was nice and calming up here. Walking to the edge of the roof, she wiped off the little bit of snow on it and swung her legs over, sitting down, taking in the view of the city she grew up in. It looked gorgeous from up here. It looked like a winter wonderland with the snow covering the unique architecture of the buildings. Too bad it looked so drab from down below, just like everything in it. Nothing interesting went on in this place. It was too cold for much to go on.

She took another sip of her sake, to warm her up. She forgot to bring her coat. Sighing, she stood up, standing at the edge of the roof, looking down. A part of her wanted to step back, but a part of her considered jumping. She didn't see the point of going on anymore. To get disappointment time and time again? She wanted to call it quits. Life was selfish, lonely…she had no friends, no family, the person she thought she loved betrayed her. It wouldn't make much of a difference if she just disappeared anyway.

Taking another pull from her cigarette, she exhaled. She loved the way the smoke looked as it faded into nothingness. Looking down, it seemed like people were starting to notice her on the top of the roof. There were some shinobi looking up, and more were starting to come. Well, if she was going to jump, it was now or never.

"You can't stop me, you bastards!" Mimi called down to them, even though they probably wouldn't be able to hear her. Finishing her small bottle, she dropped it, plummeting down to be shattered on the hard ground.

* * *

Kankuro took a right, following the shinobi through a bunch of twists and turns that went deeper underground. Finally, the shinobi opened a heavily padlocked door and walked inside. Kankuro waited for the shinobi to go inside before he quietly snuck through the door when it was halfway closed. It slammed loudly behind him, and he found a thick pole to hide behind just in case it brought attention to him.

What he saw in front of him was…amazing. He found himself in a multifloored metal labyrinth that went so deep underground he questioned if it was even real. It was amazing that such a structure could be built. But now that he was here, how on earth was he going to find this scroll? Everywhere he looked there were doors and hallways. This was going to be harder than he thought. What was he going to do…

Then a lightbulb went off in his head as he remembered what he did during the Chunnin Exams. Of course...but he had to stay hidden. There were probably a bunch of shinobi hidden everywhere. He had to stay alert.

"Hey," a snow shinobi said to the muscular shinobi Kankuro was following.

The muscular shinobi turned around, confused. "I've never seen you around here. You must be the new guy to replace Shirokuma. What's your name?"

"Uh…Aisu." The shinobi blurted out.

"My name's Hyoga. Did you need something?"

"Yes." Aisu said. "I was sent to pick up something from one of the vaults…a scroll with a green glow. Do you know where it's located? I was only ordered how to open the door, but I wasn't told its location because it was too risky to talk about it outside of here. I was told some of you would know its location."

"Oh, that scroll? Of course. That one was sent to be picked up soon and sent somewhere else. You must have been the one assigned to pick it up. I'll show you the way."

_Bingo._ Kankuro thought, as he followed the two shinobi thirteen flights down the large labyrinth of doors and passageways. He made sure to remember where he came from so he can backtrack his way out of here. Eventually the two shinobi stopped by the door that the scroll was supposed to be located.

"This is it, Aisu. You remember how to get back to the entrance?" Hyoga asked.

"Yeah, I just have one more favor…I'm new here, and I've never opened these doors before. Mind helping me?"

Hyoga looked at the snow shinobi skeptically. "Before working in this facility, we're specially trained in opening these doors."

"Oh, right…" Aisu said.

"You're not really a snow shinobi." Hyoga stated, taking out a kunai.

Kankuro manipulated his puppet, quickly taking out another one of his puppets to attack Hyoga from behind, using "Aisu" to break open the door. Once the door was broken, Kankuro rushed inside, grabbing the scroll. In an instant, kunai came at him from all directions in the room, a loud alarm going off throughout the whole labyrinth.

"Shit!"Hyoga said, tossing the puppet off of him, but not before getting cut with a poisoned kunai, causing him to fall to the ground immediately. The poison was strong, and potent, one of Kankuro's many experiments. Hyoga scrambled for his walkie talkie, saying "Floor thirteen, room 367! I need backup, now!" before starting to black out.

Kankuro used his puppets to block and dodge most of the needles, but he got hit with one. Instantly, he could tell it was poisoned, but he could barely feel its effects. It was probably a poison he was already immune to. Putting the scroll away, he ran out the room, rapidly rushing back to where he originally entered, but coming to a halt once he saw a group a five snow shinobi running his direction.

_Dammit, they're blocking the entrance out of here._ Kankuro thought. He instinctively threw poisoned smoke at them, giving him the opportunity to run in the opposite direction, deeper into the labyrinth. There had to be another way out of here.

"Hey, get back here!" Kankuro heard from behind him. There were more shinobi after him.

"He's headed down to the twentieth floor," he heard the snow shinobi say in his walkie talkie. "Be careful, he's tough, and he's got poisons!"

Within moments, there were more snow shinobi coming at him from the opposite direction as well. He was getting surrounded. He looked over the rail of the walkway. It would be a deep fall, but he didn't have a choice. He jumped over the rail falling deeper into the labyrinth. He was surprised there weren't more shinobi after him. Rojikku and Kanjo were probably causing a scene outside, slowing them down.

In an instant he tumbled to the floor. He probably fell about three more flights down, but as he got up, he cursed himself. He was surrounded by snow shinobi, as if they were waiting for him. Well, there was only one thing he could do.

He pulled out all of his puppets, ready for the challenge.

* * *

Mimi looked down, seeing a whole crowd of shinobi starting to run in front of the building. There was a lot of noise…something was going on down there…they seemed to be fighting. Everyone was running out of the bank…it was a mess. What was going on? Whatever it was, she didn't care anymore. Taking a last pull from her cigarette, she tossed it, bracing herself to jump.

* * *

"You okay there, Rojikku?" Kanjo asked, tossing a shinobi away from him that tried to attack him from behind.

"Yeah, but there's more coming. There's only so much we can handle. Let's run in the other direction; it'll lure them away from the bank."

"I don't even think that's possible, there are so many…to think there would be this many at such an isolated village."

"Kankuro needs to hurry up!"

* * *

Kankuro was able to take some of the shinobi down, but he was outnumbered. One of the snow shinobi froze one of his puppets in ice with a jutsu, disabling it. He had to find a way to get out of here, fast, before they managed to do it to the rest of his puppets. He looked around quickly at the dark surroundings, and saw a hallway up ahead.

"Focus on him, not the puppets!" One of the snow shinobi yelled.

Dodging an attack, he ran toward the hallway, not bothering to look behind him. He felt them gaining on him. As he neared the end of the hallway, there were two doors that opened. There was a shinobi on the other side. Kankuro manipulated a puppet to grab and toss him behind, having him crash into the other shinobi chasing him, the group of them tumbling to the floor.

Past the doors, he saw it was some type of lift. This could be his way out of here. He quickly pressed the buttons that looked like it could close the doors. It worked. As the elevator moved up, he leaned against the walls, breathing heavily. Gaara was right. Robbing this bank was _not_ a walk in the park. No wonder so many people left their important shit here. The important thing was that he got the scroll. The next thing was getting the hell out of here.

As the elevator door opened, there was yet another shinobi waiting for him on the other side. He prepared for this, instinctively kicking him in the stomach. The elevator locked itself behind him as it closed, so he couldn't get back in. Cursing, he rushed past the shinobi before he got up again.

With his luck, he realized he was in the lobby of the bank, and saw the door outside ahead of him. There were a whole bunch of shinobi outside though! There was only one way out of here—going up. He ran, bumping into a man with chestnut hair.

"Please don't kill me! Please, I beg you—"

"Stop whining!" Kankuro said, punching him in the face. "Show me how to get up to the roof, now, before I do more than break your nose!"

He shakily pointed in the direction of the staircase on the other side of the lobby. As he ran toward the staircase, he heard the man say "he went that way!"

The snow shinobi he kicked must be going after him now.

Kankuro rushed up the stairs, skipping a couple as he was ascending to the roof. He heard footsteps rush rapidly behind him. He was a flight below him. Turning around quickly, he tossed a shuriken at him.

"Ouch!" The shinobi yelled in pain, kneeling down. He got his ankle.

He ascended all the way to the top floor, pushing open a metal door, feeling the cold breeze brush past his face. He had to hurry up. That shuriken won't hold him back for long.

"_Get off the roof, we have you surrounded."_ Kankuro heard someone say with a megaphone. He just got up there. How did they know he planned to escape from the roof?

"Never!" Kankuro heard a voice say up ahead. It was a woman in a black dress on the ledge. What the fuck was she doing? He didn't know, and didn't really care, but he was pissed off that she probably ruined his huge plan of escaping here without a hassle. No wonder there were so many shinobi everywhere.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…" Kankuro grumbled angrily. His escape plan was ruined because of some wackjob? He was lucky he got this far.

He felt something slice his shoulder. It was a kunai.

"Don't move!" The shinobi that was chasing him said. "Hand over what you've taken."

In an instant, he grabbed the girl standing at the ledge, putting a kunai to her throat.

"NO! Get the hell off of me, you bastard!" The girl yelled angrily.

"Shut up!" Kankuro said, covering her mouth. "Put your weapons down or she dies!" He said to the snow shinobi in front of him. "Do you want this on your conscience?"

"Just let her go," The snow shinobi said.

"I said put your fucking weapons down!"

The snow shinobi dropped all of his weapons reluctantly.

"Now go back in the building and close the door!"

* * *

"Look Kanjo, there are two more people on the roof," Rojikku called over to Kanjo.

Rojikku jumped on a tree to get a closer look…it was the woman, a snow shinobi, and a guy in a familiar black suit. The snow shinobi looked like he was retreating.

"It's Kankuro, he's out! Let's go!" Rojikku said to Kanjo.

The two shinobi quickly ran away, jumping over the walls of the village.

"What the hell, they're retreating!" A snow shinobi said as they ran away.

"It must have been a setup. They wouldn't just attack us for nothing," another snow shinobi said. "I'm going to go follow them, to see what they were up to."

* * *

"You screwed everything up! You're a menace, I should fucking kill you!" Kankuro said, grabbing the woman by her collar. "Just look at this mess! There weren't supposed to be this many shinobi around!"

Kankuro was pissed. This whole mess wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be just a couple of shinobi after Rijokku and Kanjo while he snuck away with the scroll. Now what the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't believe this whole thing got out of hand because of some crazy villager standing on the roof.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead." The woman said.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't really kill her. There could be serious consequences for killing a local villager, and he didn't want to get into another mess. But he couldn't trust her and let her go either. He was going to have to take her with him for now, and ask questions later. It was the only way he was going to get away with this without serious consequences.

"Look, lady," he said. "I have serious business to take care of. You have nothing to lose, right? You know the area, how about you help me get out of the village without any trouble?"

Mimi looked up at the guy. What the fuck, was that paint all over his face? His accent was different too; he wasn't from around here. Dressed in all black, face paint, a bunch of shinobi around…he had to be some type of thief. And he was asking her to _help_ him?

"You're bargaining with me?" Mimi said. This guy had guts.

"If you help me, I'll kill you later, tomorrow, anytime you want," he lied. But apparently that's what this lady wanted.

"Well, there is an alley that leads into the deep woods…" Mimi said, considering his negotiation.

"Good, show me the way," Kankuro said, throwing the girl over his shoulder. She didn't weigh much. She was actually really short.

"Hey!" Mimi said. "Put me down!"

"No time for that," Kankuro said, jumping off the building, hearing a group of shinobi crash through the roof door the moment he escaped the roof of the building.


	3. Escape

**A/N: Hello again. Here's the next chapter.**

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Mimi said, a dizzying sensation clouding her head as the sand shinobi holding her jumped from building to building, tree to tree. She was having trouble distinguishing if it was the sake kicking in or the sudden, fast movements she wasn't used to. Or maybe it was both.

As if on cue, the movements stopped, and she was on her feet again, shadowed by a narrow alley between two tall, overpowering buildings. She took a good look around where she was at, and though it was completely familiar to her, she couldn't help the nervous butterflies in her gut that were starting to flutter, as if this place was completely foreign to her. It was starting to sink in that she blatantly agreed to run off with a thief recklessly and help him escape this village, in exchange of him taking her life. A few years ago, this would have sounded none other than utterly ridiculous. But here she was, at her all time low, in this gray, murky mess of a village, losing hope of ever having her life take a turn for the better. Time and time again, events have come and gone, hitting a plateau that could be accurately described as hell on earth.

"We've lost them for the time being, but we have to keep moving," Kankuro said, taking in the eerie silence that crept up after losing sight of the group of white clad shinobi that were chasing after them. "What are you doing? Now isn't time for a cigarette break!"

Mimi scowled at him as she shuffled through the pockets of her thin jacket for the box of heavenly death that accompanied her for the last month, when she started to get clues of her relationship starting to fail. Those women were right. She had been in denial. She huffed stubbornly, taking out her lighter to feel the vapors that would fill her lungs…until she saw something weird about the guy standing next to her. There was something different about his appearance than when she first saw him a couple of minutes ago, and it wasn't the face paint. Then it hit her.

"Hey, dude, you don't look so good," she said as she observed him starting to sweat…a lot. Who sweats like that in this weather?

"You don't say?" Kankuro replied sarcastically. Being that he's being tracked down right now by a bunch of shinobi, he doubted he would be looking his best right now. He looked down at the short, black haired girl, standing there with a cigarette in her hand looking like she just stepped out of a funeral, paler than a ghost, and figured she's probably seen better days herself. But in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think that she was probably right. Ever since he escaped from the roof, he felt himself getting gradually weaker. Before he knew it, his body betrayed him, hitting the ground before he could even realize what happened.

"Dude, what the hell!" Mimi said, kneeling down over him, dropping her cigarette. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I…I don't know…" Kankuro said, having to think for a minute.

"No, no, no, no…" was all Mimi could say. She didn't want to have this guy randomly die on her. She had _no_ idea what was going on, and she did not want to find out. And if he died, she didn't even want to think about the type of trouble she'll get in afterward. If they hadn't had plans of firing her from her job, they most definitely have an excuse to now.

Backtracking his mission, Kankuro tried to remember the events that occurred trying to obtain this scroll. It was getting increasingly difficult as his head was getting fuzzy and reacting slowly. He got hit by a kunai…it had poison on it…that was it. The poison seemed to be catching up with him. The most he could do is hope that the antidote he had worked. It worked for most poisons. But he could barely move an inch…not to even lift a hand to get it in one of his pockets.

"I've been poisoned…" Kankuro struggled to say to Mimi. "Get…the…"

He started to cough, trying to get the last words out.

"Get what?" Mimi said, feeling helpless.

"…Antidote…in my pocket…it's a small bottle with blue liquid…"

Mimi felt around for his pockets, and then realized he had a whole bunch of pockets…that had a whole bunch of weapons. She carelessly tossed them across the alley, frantically searching for a small bottle.

"What are you _doing_?" Kankuro asked, coughing between words.

"Looking for the bottle!" Mimi said, finding yet another hidden pocket. "Jeez, what are you, some type of assassin?"

"Not in there, in the pocket above that one…" It was getting harder to speak.

"I checked that one already!" Mimi said, putting her hand in the pocket again to double check.

"No, not _that _one…ugh, I'm so dead…"

"No, don't say that! You're not gonna die, I'll find it…" Mimi said, more to herself as she saw him coughing more.

And as if she hit the jackpot, she finally felt small bottles in her hands as she checked another pocket that she overlooked. And as she pulled out the bottles, she realized…they were ALL different shades of blue.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Mimi said, looking at the bottles hopelessly. "Hey, dude, you've got like five blue bottles that all look different. Which one?"

"The…darkest blue…"

Mimi was shocked how he was actually still able to talk. The poisons that were made by the shinobi here were said to paralyze you within seconds. She didn't know when he got hit, but his body was able to fight it off for a while before it started catching up to him…and he's still talking! Either that or the poisons here just suck and the rumors were a lie. But she doubted that.

After administering the antidote, she gathered all of the weapons that were tossed across the narrow alley. A couple of minutes later, she saw the guy sit up.

"How are you feeling, dude?" Mimi asked. "I've got to ask, how did you have an antidote for the poison? You're not from around here."

"Can you stop calling me dude? My name is Kankuro." He said, ignoring her second question.

"Well, _sorry_, Kankuro," Mimi said sarcastically. "It's not like I had the time to politely ask you your name after you carried me over your shoulder like I was a bag of laundry."

_Shikamaru's right. Women are troublesome_, Kankuro thought.

"It's a cool name, though. I wish I had a cool name." Mimi added. "I don't like my name; it sounds dumb."

"Why? What's your name?" Kankuro asked curiously.

"Just call me Mimi."

"That's not your real name, is it?"

"No, it's Himitsu."

Himitsu. It didn't sound dumb to him at all, just a bit different. "It's not a bad name," he commented.

"Hn, I guess." Mimi said, the disagreement apparent in her voice. "Here, take these…sorry for throwing them around," she continued apologetically, handing him the weapons that she had tossed all over the place.

Kankuro stood up, putting the weapons back where they were located. He still felt a bit weakened, but he was strong enough to start walking.

"We should get out of here," Kankuro suggested. "I need to find my teammates before going into the deep woods."

"Ugh, fine. I need to find a coat anyway. I left mine back at the bank." Mimi said. "But if you bump into a whole army, it's your fault."

XXXXXXXXXX

Rojikku and Kanjo waited, hiding within the trees outside the village, waiting for Kankuro.

"Do you think they were able to catch up to him?" Kanjo asked Rojikku.

"He wouldn't let himself get caught so easily."

"I'll give it another half hour, but after that we should start searching for him."

Rojikku agreed.

As Rojikku and Kanjo waited, the half hour was approaching, and the thoughts of impending doom got thicker in the air…but just when Rojikku and Kanjo decided they were going to go search for their teammate, Kanjo heard the trees rustle, chunks of snow falling to the ground from the branches.

"There's someone here," Kanjo said, staying alert of his surroundings.

"Locate where the sound came from," Rojikku said, preparing himself.

The sounds were getting clearer now. There were footsteps, and it was getting louder. Rojikku's heart started racing in his chest, not moving a muscle. He managed to escape from them once, and he'll do it again, and fight to the death if need be.

Gasping, Kanjo saw a figure appear from behind the trees. Tensing up, he felt himself tighten his grip around his kunai. This was it.

The figure got clearer, the thin, cold air getting heavy as Rojikku and Kanjo prepared for the fight of their life.

"Guys, come on, I found a way out of here that won't get us caught," Kankuro said, appearing from behind the trees surrounding them.

"Kankuro," Rojikku said, sounding relieved. "We were just about to go looking for you. What took you so long? Did the snow shinobi give you a hard time? Did you get what we needed from the safe?"

"Of course I did. If we leave now, we can consider this mission a success. Follow me."

"Wait a second; shouldn't we be going the other way?" Kanjo asked.

"No, there is an exit at the end of the village, leading to a deep forest, and will lead us to a tundra that will lead us off this island. We have better luck escaping that way. The snow shinobi don't go in that forest." Kankuro explained. Mimi had told him this while they were walking to get his teammates. After showing him where the forest was located, she said she would wait for them there.

"Why?" Kanjo asked.

Before he could get his answer, the three shinobi tried to keep their balance as they felt the ground starting to shake under them.

"What the hell?" Rojikku said, looking at the ground frantically to see if there was a source.

"It's an earthquake!" Kanjo yelled.

"No…it's a jutsu." Kankuro said, getting his puppets ready.

Heavy winds circled them, bringing the snow on the ground upward into what was turning into a tornado.

"Run!" Kankuro yelled, heading toward the deep forest behind the outskirts of the village.

A huge tidal wave of snow towered over the three shinobi as they ran towards the edge of the forest. It got bigger as the first snowfall in two weeks came down at full force, causing the temperature to drop significantly, the winds increasing as if they were racing between the trees.

"We won't be able to outrun this, Kankuro!" Rojikku said, yelling over the whistling winds.

"Don't worry, I can handle this," Kanjo said, turning toward the incoming tidal wave of snow, which was getting larger by the second. Being from a shinobi family of wind manipulators, he used the strong winds that were steadily increasing, and mixed them with his own chakra, creating a gust so forceful that it dissipated the tidal wave to a nonthreatening snow hill.

XXXXXXX

"Himitsu-san," A voice said from behind Mimi. **(A/N: Did I get the Japanese honorifics right? I always confuse them!)**

Mimi turned around, and her eyes widened. "S-Shimo-sama…" It was the village elder, looking graceful as always, in a beautiful pale blue, robe like coat. She looked almost ethereal, like an ice queen, with her long, white hair dancing gracefully, despite the strong winds. It was like she was born to live in this arctic environment. _I hope I look as elegant as she does when I get her age,_ Mimi thought in the back of her mind.

Mimi comes across her so rarely; she forgets that she is such an important presence in this village. "Y-You shouldn't be outside in this weather. The blizzard looks like it will only get worse."

"Your statement shocks me, Himitsu-san."

"Why is that, Shimo-sama?"

"Well, it seems that you don't mind partaking in the mischief that was caused in our village today, so I doubt you would have much concern for my well-being if you lack concern for our own village," Shimo-sama calmly stated.

"I…I…" Mimi was speechless.

"I had high hopes for you, Himitsu-san. But you are a traitor to us now, once you decided to help a couple of thieves from our very building that helps us keep our village alive. I don't know what was going through your head, but I'm afraid to say you have been exiled not only from this village, but from the Land of Snow. You have not only put yourself at risk, but everyone else—children, the elderly, and the shinobi that fight for your safety every day. One of our highly respected shinobi has fallen, and you are helping the person that ended his life."

When Shimo-sama mentioned the fallen shinobi, she felt like her soul tore. Her parents were snow shinobi of the village, who died for the people…for her. And here she was, being a part of the conspiracy. She didn't want to even have the thought of what her parents would have said at her actions. Mimi's insides shattered, a lump growing in her throat with regret. In that instant, she remembered all the good times she had in her hometown, despite the setbacks. The small occasional festivals, filled with the decorations and delicious delicacies that were free for everyone, sitting on her fire escape, admiring the beauty of the snow shimmering throughout the whole village at night…teaching the younger kids how to make igloos. Even though she lost her parents at a young age, the villagers tried to be inviting…they never mistreated her. But she shut herself away. She had been ungrateful and selfish, due to some minor setbacks that happened in her own life…that she realized now was fixable, things she could move on and live with, even if they would never change. But her actions were irreparable, and it was too late. In her heart, she realized she didn't really want to leave the village; she didn't really want to die. And now that she had the opportunity to leave, it broke her heart that she could never come back to the chilling, cold weather that she had become so used to.

"I…I'm sorry," was all Mimi could say, looking down in shame.

But there was no reply from Shimo-sama. When she looked up, she saw that she was already gone, as if she vanished with the wind. Was that all she had to say? She felt her eyes water. Now she was truly all on her own. Of all the mistakes she made, this was the biggest one of her life. It was too late to realize that she had never been alone in her grief. And now, she had no idea where she was going to go after all this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Not bothering to see who was behind the jutsu, the three sand shinobi fled near the entrance of the forest, where Mimi was waiting for them. Needless to say, Mimi was impressed at what she just saw. Being that it was so huge, she could see what happened from a distance. The way he just evaporated that huge tidal wave of snow…it made her come to the realization that these guys were probably really high level shinobi. First Kankuro with the poison, now this awesome jutsu…apart of her wanted to see what else they had up their sleeve, but then she realized that she shouldn't be siding with these guys. At this point, though, she didn't have a choice. It's not like she was allowed back in the village anymore. She huddled in the white fur coat she managed to get in a local store some time ago while Kankuro had went to get his teammates. And the thoughts of the events that just occurred popped in her head again, and she felt her eyes start to water.

"Hey, you ready to get us out of here?" Kankuro said, walking to Mimi.

She quickly blinked back the tears that were about to fall, and took a deep breath, suppressing any temptation to break down and cry. They didn't see that Shimo-sama was here; they must have just come. She pursed her already thin lips, and looked up at him.

"Yes, let's go…" Mimi forced herself to say, before walking through the entrance of the woods. She could use a cigarette right now, but she wouldn't be able to light it in this weather anyway.

Kankuro noticed the look she had on her face before turning around to lead them. It was that same, broken look Gaara had when he was a child. Something happened…but he would rather not touch the subject. It was probably personal and he didn't know the girl well; it wasn't his place to say anything.

XXXXXXX

The sun sank deeper and deeper in the horizon the deeper they walked into the woods, and eventually nightfall had taken over, the numerous stars and constellations filling the dark blue skies as the severe snow storm ceased. The walk was quiet since the time they entered the forest, but Kanjo couldn't take the awkward silence hanging in the air any longer.

"Kankuro, who is that girl?" Kanjo whispered to him, as they were walking deeper into the woods, the day gradually coming to an end.

"That's Himitsu. I bumped into her on the roof of the bank. She agreed to show us a way out of here without being chased by shinobi."

"And how do you know to trust her?" Kanjo asked.

Kankuro looked at the short girl walking a couple of feet ahead of them, her long white fur coat trailing behind her. She walked as if she were mourning. Her attitude completely changed when he came back from getting Rojikku and Kanjo. Well, if she was trying to jump off a roof, then something had to have been bothering her.

"She doesn't have much to lose," Mimi heard Kankuro say. If only he knew that she just lost _everything._

"Hey…um Himitsu?" Kanjo asked.

"You can call me Mimi," she replied.

"Okay, Mimi," Kanjo corrected. "I just wanted to ask…why don't the snow shinobi come to these woods?"

"Because it's dangerous for people who don't know how to survive the terrain. Everyone in the village is taught how to survive in this forest and farther up north towards the arctic circle…but you guys aren't snow shinobi. This is just me making a guess, but they probably let you go because it's an almost guaranteed death. And even if we do know how to survive the terrain, that doesn't mean it's easy."

"What?!" Kanjo said, surprised. "Then why would you lead us here? I knew we couldn't trust you!"

Mimi gave him a flat look. "You know I can help you survive, right?" Mimi turned to Kanjo, finally taking a good look at him. Both of the other guys were around the same height that Kankuro was. Kanjo had really tan skin and messy lavender hair with grey eyes. He was pretty exotic looking. It's rare she sees someone that has lavender hair. She usually comes across people who have black, brown, or blonde hair. Rojikku had long, navy blue hair tied back, and glasses.

"Ignore Kanjo. He can say certain things without thinking them through, sometimes." Rojikku said. Unlike Kanjo, who probably didn't get the clue yet, he actually put two and two together, realizing that this was the same girl that attempted to jump off the roof of the bank earlier. He assumed that for her to go that far, she must have had some type of disdain for her village to begin with.

"I can see that," Mimi mumbled.

Kankuro has been to the land of snow before, but not this far up north. Was the northern part of this island actually in the Arctic Circle? If this really was the case, he hoped Mimi really did know how to survive here.

XXXXXXXXX

The past couple of days, Mimi showed them how to make shelter in the bitter cold as they traveled further up north, and other ways to survive, like heating the water that snow and ice makes so it doesn't freeze your core and kill you. She also showed them the best places to find food because it was so scarce, and that it was a necessity to survive.

They had already passed the forest, and were now in tundra. Mimi said they probably had about two more days until they hit the northern coast where the ocean was, and where there would be people to help them get off the island, and finally head south back to Suna.

"It's amazing that you know how to survive in this type of environment. It's so harsh," Rojikku said as another cool wind passed them yet again.

"It's not a big deal," Mimi said. "Every villager is trained for this since their childhood to prepare for any emergency that would make us have to flee this far up north."

"It makes me wonder how those people up north at the coast can live in this type of environment," Kanjo added.

"I'm not sure how they do it, but the elders have told us that they have some gift where they are born knowing how to manipulate ice and snow, and because of that, they have an immunity to the extreme cold. They used to live among us but wanted to keep their bloodline pure, so they left to an isolated place where people won't intermingle with their lineage," Mimi explained. "They don't mind us passing by and visiting, but won't let us live among them."

"Sounds like some type of kekkei genkai," Kankuro commented.

"Let people live among them? Not like anyone would want to anyway," Kanjo added. "This place blows."

"Literally," Rojikku said.

Mimi laughed at the last comment. "I don't mind it, I guess."

"Well, of course you don't, this is all you know! Suna's way better." Kanjo said.

"Kanjo, shut up," Kankuro said, even though he secretly agreed.

"You're saying you don't agree with me?" Kanjo replied.

"I'm not saying that," Kankuro said. "I'm just saying you sound like an idiot."

"Hey, I'm not an idiot! You think that-"

"Aaaaaand I think we can settle here for the night," Mimi interrupted, already sensing another argument. Kankuro and Kanjo have been arguing consistently ever since they left the village into the forest. Kankuro seemed to have a short fuse when it came to Kanjo's brashness. He seemed to have a short fuse for a lot of things if it was foolish enough. Rojikku seemed to be more passive and blatantly ignored their arguments and took no part in them.

"Do we have to make another igloo?" Kanjo asked.

"Well, if you don't want to freeze to death, then yes." Mimi answered.

"But look, there's a cave right over there," Kanjo said, pointing east some distance away.

"Oh, it's good that you noticed that—"

"Great, let's go!" Kanjo said, running toward the cave.

"Kanjo, no!" Mimi called after him, but he was already too far for him to hear her. Shinobi and their damn speed. "I was going to say we would have to relocate…"

"Why would we have to relocate?" Kankuro asked, looking down at her.

"Because that's a polar bear cave," Mimi said worriedly. "We have to go get him!"

Mimi heard Kankuro mutter "fucking idiot" under his breath.

"I'll go after him. You guys stay here; I'll be right back," Rojikku said,shaking his head at the absurdity of what just happened.

"…I hope they'll be alright," Mimi said, looking toward the direction of the cave.

"They'll be fine. We've dealt with worse." Kankuro said.

A couple of minutes later, Mimi and Kankuro heard roars from the direction of the cave.

"Oh no, that doesn't sound good…" Mimi said right before she saw the two shinobi running toward them…with a huge polar bear behind them.

All of them started to run away from the angry polar bear as it headed toward their direction. The three sand shinobi were able to outrun the bear easily, but Mimi wasn't able to. She felt the bear gaining on her and tripped as she attempted to run faster. She turned around to see the bear no more than a few feet away from her.

_I'm a goner_, she thought as it got closer. Her heart jumped to her throat.

But she felt something rapidly pull her away in an instant, like her body was moving without her conscious decision. In a second she was out of the range of the polar bear, standing where Kankuro, Rojikku, and Kanjo were. The polar bear gave up, and retreated back to its cave. Mimi sighed in relief. Of all the ways to die, that would not have been one way she would have wanted to go.

She turned around to see Kankuro behind her, his hands with blue strings floating out of his fingers.

"…Did you do that?" Mimi asked, surprised.

He smiled. "Yes."

"Oh. Wow, well, thank you…" Mimi said, smiling back. He just saved her life…again, technically.

"You're welcome," Kankuro said, shocked to see her smiling. She actually looked pretty when she wasn't moping around.

"I'm cold, can we build that igloo?" Kanjo asked, breaking the silence between Mimi and Kankuro as they stared at each other.

"Oh, now you want to build the igloo, you imbecile?" Kankuro snapped.

"Look, I didn't know—"

"You almost got someone killed—"

"Here we go again," Rojikku said dully.

Mimi nodded in agreement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eventually a small village started coming into view as they travelled up north, the ocean not far from the village. But the last two days had no nights. It wasn't something the sand shinobi were used to. Mimi assured them that day and night in this part of the world didn't work the same way. The nights were months long, and so were the days.

"We are here. There's someone waiting for us." Mimi said as they approached the edge of the village. "They must have seen us through the fog."

"They're able to do that?" Kankuro asked.

"Yeah, they're really gifted people," Mimi said.

When they approached the village, there was an elderly man who welcomed them. Kankuro was in awe at the fact that they were barely dressed in this weather, only wearing small strips of animal fur. The people looked pretty much the same like Mimi and the people from her village, but the most impressive thing was their eyes. Unlike Mimi's hazel eyes, theirs were huge, silver and pupil less, which shimmered like glitter the way snow would when the sunlight shined on their eyes.

The elderly man spoke in a dialect that Kankuro could barely catch on to. Mimi didn't seem to have a problem understanding and speaking to him though, and he led them to the heart of the village, where everyone welcomed them. Some of the dwellings here were crafted artistically out of ice, looking almost fantasy-like.

"How did you let us into the village?" Rojikku asked Mimi.

"I just explained to them what happened. They don't get themselves involved in the matters of the land of snow often, and tend to remain neutral in most situations," Mimi said. It was starting to dawn on her that she was going to have to think about where to go really soon. She couldn't go back to her own village—she had to leave the land, actually. She was just going to have to stay in hiding somewhere, living alone in the Arctic. As peaceful as that sounds, Mimi didn't want to do that. It was going to a painfully lonely life.

The villagers provided Mimi and the sand shinobi with extra clothing, and food. They were able to freshen up in the steam houses they had there, and even offered if they wanted to take a swim in the ocean before leaving, which all of them politely refused that offer. The way they swam in the ocean and walked around without any type of protection from the cold made Kankuro uncomfortable. He could barely believe they were still alive doing that.

The boats at the coast were bigger than Kankuro anticipated…they were ships, actually. Apparently they were imported from the main land. One of the men there waved his hand, creating a staircase of ice that led to the entrance of the ship. Kankuro thought that was awesome, and kind of intimidating. These people could create anything out of snow and ice…no wonder no one ever bothered them. Mimi explained to him that they were taking this ship to the other islands to deal with certain business matters, and they can drop them off down south on the way.

"The ship should be departing in a couple of minutes," Mimi said to the three of them.

"Thank you for helping us, Mimi." Rojikku said, walking up the staircase of ice to the boat.

"Yeah, thanks," Kanjo said. "You were a big help to us…sorry for almost getting you mauled by a polar bear," He said, before following Rojikku on the ship.

"Thank you, Mimi. I don't know if this mission would have been successful without you." Kankuro said to her.

"I'm..glad to help."

"I guess this is where we part."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Mimi said, looking up at him.

"Forgetting what?" Kankuro said in confusion.

"Our deal. Remember what you promised me?" Mimi said, remembering what happened a little more than a week ago. Mimi didn't want to do this, but to live in solitude…alone as an outcast in the Arctic…she would rather choose death, and came down with this decision while spending her time here in this small village.

"Oh, that…" Kankuro said. "Look—"

"You lied to me, didn't you?" Mimi said sternly.

"You didn't really expect me to agree to kill a villager. Do you know the type of trouble I would get in for doing that? I wasn't serious. That wasn't my mission."

"You have to do this. You made a deal!"

"I'm sorry, Mimi. I can't do that…I think you should go back to your village and talk to someone."

Mimi put her head down, tears falling down her face from the whole time she was holding them back since the day she left her home. She turned around. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. "I…can't do that."

"Why?" He said, turning her around to face him again, but she still kept her head down.

"While I was waiting for you in front of the woods, one of the village elders approached me…I'm not allowed back in the village…I was kicked out of this whole land for helping you," she sobbed. "I didn't want that to happen…I wanted to leave my village, but I would have liked to come back one day…"

That's why her attitude changed when he saw her again that day.

"I can't live as an outcast in hiding in this land. I would rather be dead…" Mimi continued. "This is all I ask of you…"

Kankuro stood silent for a minute.

"Come with us." He then said, taking her hands.

Mimi looked up at him. "R-Really?"

"Yeah, really." Kankuro said.

**A/N: Done with this chapter. It was hard for me to decide when to end it. 0.0**


	4. Suna

**A/N: Aaaaaand the next chapter's here!**

"Well, are you just gonna stand there? We don't have all day," Kankuro said, starting to walk to the ship.

"I'm coming," Mimi said, still surprised at his offer. She walked up to the ship behind him, a part of her nervous about leaving her homeland for good. She never left outside of the Land of Snow—heck, she barely left the island. But maybe being exposed to another land will be good for her. She needed the change, as scary as it seemed. It was just so far away…

Kankuro wasn't sure if the decision he just made was the wisest one, but he didn't know what else to do. He felt partially responsible for what happened, and wasn't just going to leave her after how much she's helped them. She was kind of a downer sometimes, but she wasn't so bad. She just needed to live a little.

Rojikku walked to Kankuro after he saw Mimi get on the boat, Kanjo striking a conversation with her, asking if she's coming with them.

"Kankuro, is she coming with us?" Rojikku asked him.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure about this?" He replied, raising an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"Look, I didn't know what to do. She doesn't have anywhere to go. They kicked her out."

"Oh wow, that sucks," Rojikku said. "Regardless, remember what happened the last time. Lord Kazekage wasn't happy about you bringing foreign girls to Suna after your mission some time ago."

"That was just for a couple of nights," Kankuro explained. "And this is nothing like that."

Rojikku gave him a skeptical look.

"Dude, look at her. She's not even my type. I just felt like I had to help her since she helped us."

"Kanjo seems to have taken an interest in her, though," Rojikku joked, looking at the both of them talking near the edge of the ship.

"That guy will go after anything that walks." Kankuro commented.

Rojikku laughed at his comment. "Just so you know, I'm not taking any part in this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Rojikku said, leaning over the edge of the ship.

"Already? We haven't even been on the ship for that long," Kankuro said.

"Rojikku always gets seasick. Every time we go on water, this always happens. I'm used to it by now," Kanjo said.

Gaara always put them to go on missions together, so Kankuro expected Kanjo to know this. He understood why Gaara did it though. They did work very well together.

"Shut up." Rojikku said, annoyed.

"Aww, don't worry Rojikku, I used to get seasick a lot too. Looking at the horizon helps," Mimi said, patting his shoulder. Mimi would take ships and boats to travel between islands sometimes during her childhood. When she got old enough, she would send basic mail between the islands. It was how she learned the area so well.

"You know a lot more than what you show…" Kanjo said.

"What do you mean?" Mimi said. "Are you going to start to question me again?"

"I'm just curious," Kanjo said. "You've traveled a lot for a normal villager. You knew how to travel in tundra without getting lost, now this. Why were you on ships?"

Mimi laughed. "I know how to navigate in tundra because I was taught to read the snow. When you know how to read the snow and the winds, you'll never get lost. And I was on ships just to send basic mail and letters. The Land of Snow has many islands. It would be pretty uncommon for a villager to have never taken a boat somewhere before. I've never been anywhere outside the Land of Snow, to be honest."

"Wow, things are so different in your land…" Kanjo said.

Throughout the ride on the ship, the ship stopped on some islands where the three shinobi and Mimi would help bring stuff on board that was being traded. They would spend their time on the ship sharing stories when help wasn't needed: missions, the Chunnin exams, and ancient myths that have been passed down for generations. Eventually the days and nights went, gradually getting warmer as the ship sailed farther south. The warm weather was unfamiliar to Mimi, since she was always used to a slight chill even on the some of the hotter days back home, but the warm sun felt nice, even if she wasn't used to it. Eventually they reached the coast of the warmer lands down south, and bid farewell to the silver eyed sailors on the ship.

Mimi sighed. Seeing them and their unique eyes would probably be one of the last things she would see related to her homeland for a long time, or ever. She considered throwing away the white fur coat she bought that she had taken off once the weather started getting warmer, but reconsidered. She can keep it as a memory, since she doubted she would even use it again.

"So, how long until we get to Suna?" Mimi asked.

"Probably about a week," Kankuro said.

"Never have I ever appreciated the weather more than now." Rojikku said.

Kanjo agreed. "Yeah, no offense Mimi, but it's waaaaaay too cold up north."

Mimi shrugged. "I guess I'm used to it. The cold weather was never a huge bother to me as long as I had the right clothing. And my ancestors have been living there for thousands of years. We've adapted."

"I'm surprised none of us got frostbitten." Kankuro said. "What are the temperatures up there?"

"I wouldn't have let that happen to you guys." Mimi said. "The temperatures…well, probably around -25 degrees, and that's because it's summer." **(A/N: Real North Pole weather is a bit warmer during the summer).**

"Jeez," Kankuro said. "I don't even want to know what the temperatures are during the winter."

"It depends. The coldest I've had to deal with was about 50 degrees below zero."

"Seriously? I hope we never get sent to go back there again." Rojikku said.

"I don't think that's likely." Kankuro said, knowing the true nature of the mission.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

When nightfall came, Mimi found herself in an unfamiliar city that looked a bit sketchy. They decided to stay in a cheap motel there for the night, and the guys decided they might as well go to the bar nearby for some drinks. Mimi felt a little wine won't hurt before going to sleep later.

As she sipped her wine quietly, she overheard the guys' conversation while they were taking some shots of something she wasn't familiar with. They were talking about…guy things, and she suddenly felt that maybe she shouldn't be there.

"Hey Mimi, are you looking for a good time?" Kanjo asked her a little later.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Um…what?"

"You heard me," he said sluggishly.

_Lightweight_, she thought. "No."

"Why not? You're such a stick in the mud. You don't even laugh that much."

"That's not true. I laugh." Mimi said. Was that true? She hoped it wasn't…

"You gotta brighten up, you know?"

She was tempted to tell him to mind his damned business, but she knew that the alcohol was getting to his head. And it's not like they knew she just went through a bad breakup and wasn't in the mood for dealing with men in any type of manner at the moment.

"Hm, I guess," was all Mimi said.

"I could help brighten up your night." Kanjo said, trying to continue a conversation that Mimi was not interested in entertaining.

She looked to where Kankuro and Rojikku were sitting to see if she can try and have a more...meaningful conversation with them, but noticed that they weren't in their seats anymore. Looking around, she saw them at the other end of the bar talking to two women.

"Ugh, they're no better," Mimi mumbled, sipping the last bit of her wine. "Hey Kanjo, I'm going to the motel. I'm feeling tired."

"But you just got here…" He said.

"Sorry," she said to Kanjo, walking out the bar. "That is so not my scene," she told herself, walking to the motel.

She turned on the shower, the water being the perfect temperature, hitting her skin soothingly and giving her goosebumps. She closed her eyes, standing and feeling the warm water of the shower in a meditative state before getting the soap and shampoo to wash up.

After she was done, she got dressed in a big t shirt and shorts and then combed through her wavy hair, letting it fall down to her hips. Even though the small clan from the Land of Snow gave her some clothing, she still needed more clothes, and ones more appropriate for this type of weather. So when they entered this town, she took the opportunity to go shopping for some clothes—nothing extravagant—just enough until she got to Suna. Unlike the other three guys, she left without much but her wallet and had to get things on the way as needed.

Walking to the small wooden desk in her motel room, she took out a pencil and a paper from the drawer that was already inside, calculating the money she had. Luckily she had a bit of money saved up and it should be enough to get her to Suna and at least find a place to live before getting another job there. She had hopes that she would be able to find something…she just wasn't sure what. She doubted she would be able to work in a bank again after what happened in the Land of Snow. Eventually, she felt tired and started nodding off.

Mimi woke up from the sunlight that gradually started to shine in the room. As she sat up, she rubbed the nape of her neck, groaning. She had fallen asleep at the desk, and now her neck was stiff. _Ugh, I must have dozed off_, she thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What the hell is up with you?" Rojikku asked Mimi as she was still rubbing the nape of her neck. It still felt a little stiff even if they left the town a couple of hours ago.

"Nothing, I'm fine. My neck just hurts. I fell asleep in an uncomfortable position."

"Sucks for you, my night was great." Kanjo said.

"I'm surprised you actually remember it," Mimi mumbled.

"He doesn't." Kankuro said. "He got kicked out after getting into a fight."

"I did?" Kanjo said. "You're lying!"

"How else do you think you got that bruise on your face, jackass?"

"Well at this point it doesn't even matter anymore. I didn't like that town much anyway. It looked shady." Mimi said before Kanjo could reply. It was getting increasingly hotter as they traveled south, and she really wasn't up for another one of Kankuro and Kanjo's stupid arguments.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As the days went by, the weather got increasingly hotter…and hotter…and hotter…and _so much_ hotter. By the time they entered the desert, Mimi thought she couldn't take it much longer. She felt severe sunburn start to form, and regretted not getting a sunblock when she had the chance. So this is what sunburn felt like. It _hurt_.

"Hey Mimi, you're starting to look like a tomato!" Kanjo said, pointing at her face.

"I know, no need to rub it in," she said through gritted teeth. She was starting to think about whether this trip to Suna was the wisest decision. Her skin wasn't particularly made to adapt to this type of weather. She doubted she could even tan—she just turned red. "Ugh, it's so hot…this heat doesn't bother you?"

"We're used to it," Rojikku replied. "The same way you're used to the cold weather up north."

"Ugh, by the time we get to Suna I would have aged five years," Mimi said, dragging her hands over her face and instantly regretting it when the sting came afterward. "Ouch."

"It's okay, you can use Kankuro's war paint to cover any wrinkles you get." Kanjo joked.

Mimi laughed. "War paint doesn't cover wrinkles!"

"Or does it?" Rojikku inquired. "Not many people have seen Kankuro without his war paint on. Maybe he has something to hide."

"The both of you have seen me without it on," Kankuro said, annoyed. "Now shut up, idiots. That goes for you too, midget."

"Hey!" Mimi said defensively. "I'm not _that_ short…"

She heard Rojikku and Kanjo snicker at what she said. She scowled at them, groaning in frustration.

Mimi's never seen Kankuro without his war paint, though. Now she started to wonder how he looked without it. At first she thought he was wearing it since he was robbing that bank, but then she noticed he always had it on. But she was too hot to contemplate it much, and shrugged it out of her mind when the blistering heat made her thirsty.

XXXXXXXXXXX

By the time they got to Suna, it was already getting dark, and luckily for Mimi, much cooler. There were a couple of shinobi guarding the gates when they approached the entrance.

"Hey look, it's Lord Kazekage," Rojikku said. "I wonder what he's doing here," he said, even though he knew exactly what he was there for.

"He must have seen us coming," Kankuro said.

When they got to the gate, Mimi got to have a good look at who Rojikku pointed out was the Kazekage. He looked younger than Kanjo, Rojikku, and Kankuro! And, he also didn't look too happy, being that he was standing there with his arms crossed. He had a really cool tattoo, though.

She felt uncomfortable when he looked at her. He had these teal eyes that felt like it could see right through your soul, and his eye shadow made them stand out even more. She was too intimidated to say anything.

"Kankuro, come with me right now. I will speak to you two tomorrow," the Kazekage said to Kanjo and Rojikku.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage," they said, entering the village.

"What is your name, ma'am?" The red haired man asked Mimi.

"Um…Himitsu…" she said nervously.

"Welcome to Sunagakure, Himitsu. Matsuri will show you a place to stay for the night," he said. "Follow me, Kankuro."

"T-thank you, Lord Kazekage…" she said, looking down.

As the Kazekage and Kankuro walked into the village, Mimi was approached by a girl with short, brown hair and onyx eyes. She was in shinobi clothing.

"Hey, I'm Matsuri, but Gaara—I mean, Lord Kazekage already told you that." The girl said, getting a faint shade of pink when she slipped out his name. "Follow me."

"Gaara is Lord Kazekage's name?" Mimi said. "Everyone from here has really cool names. My name is Himitsu, but you can call me Mimi."

"Nice to meet you, Mimi." Matsuri said, starting to walk into the village.

As Mimi entered the village, she looked around, amazed at the beauty of it.

"This is a beautiful village," Mimi commented.

"You really think so?" Matsuri said. "A lot of people don't like the weather."

"Well, I guess that takes some getting used to…" Mimi said, looking around at the unique architecture of the structures around her.

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, until Matsuri couldn't take the awkward silence much longer.

"Um…so, how did you meet Kankuro?" Matsuri asked. "I mean—you don't have to answer if you don't want to—"

"No, it's okay." Mimi said. "I met him when he was in my village."

"Oh," Matsuri said. "Are you guys…um…you know, dating?"

Mimi raised an eyebrow, amused. "No, why would you think that?"

"Well, this isn't the first time he's brought foreign girls into the village…" Matsuri said. "I think I said too much…"

"Ah," Mimi said, getting what she was implying. "No, it's nothing like that. It's a long story how I ended up here. Let's just say he's doing me a favor, to keep it simple."

"Oh," Matsuri said, looking down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

"It's okay," Mimi said. "It's not your fault he's made a name for himself, I guess."

Now it was Mimi's turn to ask questions. If Matsuri wanted to prod, then Mimi could too.

"I noticed you called the Kazekage by his first name," Mimi said. "Are you guys close friends?"

"Uh, well, he's my sensei, so we have a close relationship in a way that a teacher and a student would…"

Mimi could see right through that. "You have feelings for him, don't you?"

Even at the night, she could see Matsuri turn as red as Mimi's sunburn.

"W-w-what?! No, no, I don't have feelings for the Kazekage—" Matsuri stuttered.

Mimi laughed.

"Am I that obvious?" Matsuri said, looking down in shame.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone." Mimi said. She didn't have anyone to tell even if she wanted to say anything anyway. "To be honest, though, he doesn't seem like the type to be interested..."

"He can seem cold on the outside, but he's really kind once you get to know him," Matsuri said.

"I see," Mimi said. This was getting interesting. "So he's shown you signs that he feels the same way?"

"No—I mean, we've—well, there are times when I think he does, but I doubt it."

Times when she thinks he does? There was more to this than Mimi thought. "Oh my God, have you guys done something together? Did you kiss?"

"I didn't say that!" Matsuri said defensively. "That would be inappropriate. He's my sensei—and the Kazekage. That would be completely inappropriate!"

"Oh, okay," Mimi said, smirking. She decided to leave it alone after that. She didn't know someone could get so red.

"We're here," Matsuri said, walking her in front of a small building.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"She leaves tomorrow, Kankuro." Gaara said to him in a disapproving tone. "I wouldn't have expected you to disobey my orders. I told you not to bring any foreigners without my permission in the village anymore. That puts the safety of our people at risk, and for superficial reasons."

"It's not like that, Gaara." Kankuro told his brother. "This is different."

"It's not like you to let a woman affect your judgment," Gaara said.

"No, we didn't do anything! The reason why I brought her here is different, and it's not for 'superficial reasons,'" Kankuro mocked.

"Explain," Gaara said, crossing his arms.

Kankuro explained the situation to Gaara, from the time he encountered her on the roof to the time they were in the North Pole.

"So what you're telling me," Gaara said angrily, raising his nonexistent brow, "Is that you let a traitor of their _own _village into ours?! How can I trust her if she isn't even loyal to her own village, Kankuro? You've done reckless things, but this is probably the most reckless thing you have done so far."

"Well, what did you want me to do, Gaara? Just leave her to be an outcast up there? She can't be that bad. She helped us escape, and she _knows_ she made a mistake! I don't know how successful that mission would have been if she didn't help us get out of there. We could have died."

"That still doesn't change the nature of the situation, Kankuro." Gaara said seriously.

"Gaara, give her a second chance. After what she's done for us, she at least deserves that. I feel like I kind of dragged her into all this and I feel partially responsible. Remember, you were given a second chance, too."

Gaara stood quiet for a minute, thinking about what his brother told him.

"Fine," he said. "But since you were the one who got her in this situation, you are to keep an eye on her to see if she has any malicious plans. And if she does and causes any harm to the village, _you_ will be held responsible."

Kankuro nodded. "Fair enough."

"And you will be assigned to D-rank missions for the entire month."

"_What?!_ Don't you think you're pushing it?"

"No." Gaara said bluntly. "You deliberately disobeyed the _Kazekage's_ orders, and I will not let you off easy because you are my brother. Be lucky the punishment wasn't worse. This was very serious. You are dismissed."

Kankuro groaned in frustration, walking out the office knowing there was no arguing with him. What the hell did he just get himself into?


	5. Spying, Bar, a Surprise, and Tension

**A/N: The next chapter is heeeere! I noticed that my last one was a bit shorter. I'm sorry about that. I'll try to add more to this one, but I'd rather not stretch a chapter out for length if I can't think of anything good to add. The good news is, I have some ideas brainstormed for this story, so hopefully I'll be able to put it all down in a good way.**

**Mina: Thank you for your kind review. I'm not one to demand reviews, but I really do appreciate them greatly! And it gives me reassurance that at least one person is enjoying the story. **

**Okay, on with the chapter ^^;**

_BANG. BANG. BANG._

"Mmmhmffff…" Mimi mumbled, shoving her head under her pillow to block out the noise.

_BANG. BANG. BANG._

"Grrrr…" Mimi groaned, sluggishly rolling over to get off the bed, but her whole body met with the floor instead. _Thump._

"Ouch…" Mimi said, rubbing her head as she got up. Looking around, she realized where she was, and then it hit her.

She wasn't home anymore. No more getting angry at alarm clocks and sleeping in. This wasn't her home.

_**BANG.**_ "Do I have to break the door down?" Mimi heard a female voice say from the other side of the door.

"No! I'm coming!" Mimi said, rushing to the door as consciousness slowly crept to her.

"I'm sorry," Mimi said, opening the door to a tall, blonde kunoichi with four ponytails as a hairdo. On another person, it would have looked quite odd, but she pulled off the hairstyle quite nicely. She was very pretty. The blonde hair and shapely figure kind of reminded her of that woman Yujiro cheated on her with, and her self-esteem plummeted. "Um, hello…" Mimi said shyly.

"Are you Himitsu?" The blonde stated bluntly.

"Yes…" Mimi said, confused.

"I'm Temari. I was sent by the Kazekage to give you a tour of the village today. Hurry up and get ready. We don't have all day."

"Uh…sure!" Mimi said. "Give me a moment; I'll be quick…uh, come in! Just sit over here…"

Temari sat down, arms crossed. For some reason, this woman and her attitude reminded her _a lot_ of someone else she knows in this village…

A five minute shower and a five minute frantic search of decent clothing later, Mimi was already outside, blinded by the sun that was beaming a bit too brightly than Mimi was normally used to outside. Besides sunblock, she needs to add sunglasses on the checklist of things she needs to buy.

Walking around the village during the day was surprisingly satisfying. Temari showed her everything: stores, markets, bathhouses, the hospital, the library, and anything else you can put in between. She was straightforward, but was concise and gave enough information to have Mimi understand how things worked around here. By the time the tour ended, she turned to Mimi, asking if she had any more questions.

"Yeah…" Mimi said, already starting to feel her skin burn again…and that was the last thing she needed.

"Well?" She said, crossing her arms. "Was I not clear enough for you?"

"No, no! You were great!" Mimi said quickly. She had a strong feeling offending this woman wouldn't be wise. "I just wanted to know where you sell…sunblock and sunglasses. I don't think I'm quite adapted to deal with the sun so directly…" Mimi said.

"Oh, of course," Temari said, looking down. "I should have known. Follow me. I can also show you where to get cloths to cover your head as well if you like. It would be useful until that sunburn you have heals."

"Thank you, Temari, that would be nice…" Mimi said. "Thank you for showing me around the village. I really appreciate it. You were such a great help."

Temari nodded, smiling slightly. That smile…it looked so familiar too.

"You know, you remind me a lot of someone I know from around here."

"Oh really? Who?" Temari asked skeptically. From the way it looked, a lot of people in this village were intimidating…Mimi guessed it would have to be something she would need to get used to if she decided to stay here.

"You might not know him, but he is a shinobi who wears face paint. You guys have the same mannerisms…and even your smiles are similar." Mimi said. "But I'm not saying you look like a guy or anything like that!" She corrected, not wanting to upset the woman.

Luckily, she laughed. "You mean Kankuro?"

"So you do know him!" Mimi said.

"Well I would hope so. He's my younger brother."

"Really?! It all makes sense now…of course you two would be related. But you don't call me midget, so you're nicer."

Temari smirked at her comment. So, he's given her a nickname? That's interesting. It was hard not to notice how short she was, though. She didn't even look like she was five feet. "I'll take that as a compliment," Temari said as she walked into a small store that sold products for minor injuries. "Here, I suggest you buy this too with the sunblock. You won't be able to use the sunblock until your skin heals."

Mimi looked at the small bottle that Temari handed to her. It was a cream with aloe and some other healing herbs in it. This would definitely help with the sunburn she had. Mimi bought the ointment, and put some on her face right after. She also bought two of the biggest sunblock lotions they sold, because she knew she was going to need a lot of it.

"It feels so nice…" Mimi said as the burning sensation on her face got replaced with a cooling sensation. "I can't thank you enough, Temari."

"It's no problem," Temari said. "Now let's get something to cover your face for the time being."

"Okay," Mimi said, nodding her head. "I can get some new clothes, too."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What did Gaara tell you?" Kankuro asked as he saw Rojikku and Kanjo walk out of the Kazekage's office.

"We just reported to him what happened during the mission. He was glad that it was a success." Rojikku said.

"No D-rank missions for you guys?" Kankuro asked.

Kanjo started laughing hysterically. "No. You got D-rank missions?!"

Kankuro wanted to punch this guy in the face so badly, but he resisted the urge. "Shut up," he said to Kanjo, annoyed.

It seemed like Gaara just wanted to talk to them to confirm his story of what happened. Gaara should know that he wouldn't lie about something like this.

"For how long?" Rojikku asked.

"For the month…" Kankuro mumbled. "I'm here to see what my mission is for today."

"For a month?! Sucks for you," Kanjo said, laughing harder. "We're leaving in three days on another mission, to the Land of Water."

"Stop showing off," Kankuro said, getting angry.

"I wouldn't consider it showing off on my part," Rojikku said. "It seems like Lord Kazekage likes to torture me. The Land of Water means boats, which for me, means throwing up half of the trip."

"Don't worry, buddy, I'll hold your hair back," Kanjo joked. "Let's go, I'm hungry."

"See you," Rojikku said, following Kanjo, saying goodbye to Kankuro.

Kankuro walked in the office, to see Gaara going through documents like what he's usually doing if he's not training with his student. Sometimes he wondered how he even made the time for that. Kankuro didn't have much patience for teaching, and he didn't stay teaching students for long, _especially_ young kids.

"You're going to water some plants for an elderly woman. Here is her address." Gaara said curtly.

"Come _on_, Gaara," Kankuro said. This just sounded ridiculous.

"Report to me when you are done. I have another task for you afterward. You are dismissed," was all Gaara replied.

Kankuro walked out irritably. He couldn't believe he was going to be dealing with this shit the whole month.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Whew, what a long day. I could use a cigarette just about now," Mimi said, sitting down on a bench with her bundles of bags.

"You smoke?" Temari asked disdainfully, joining her on the bench.

"I would say yes, but it's been so long since I had a cigarette. I don't even remember the last time I smoked."

"You shouldn't smoke, it's a disgusting habit," Temari snapped. "I've been trying to get my b—um, friend to stop doing it."

"There's no crime in having a boyfriend, Temari." Mimi told her, catching on to her slip.

Temari stood quiet for a moment, a stoic look on her face.

"Temari, really, it's okay…I'm not judging you. It's not a big deal."

"What do you know anyway?" Temari snapped, looking ahead. Mimi realized Temari was not one to want to show her vulnerabilities.

"I just went through a breakup. He was cheating on me. I've had my own experiences with relationships. There's no reason to hide it," Mimi said, figuring it would be best to open herself up. "I'm still not over it."

"I'm sorry to hear that…just keep it a secret, okay?" Temari said. "Please? I haven't told anyone, so if word goes out, I'll know it was you."

"Secret is my first name." Mimi joked nervously. Mimi would never in a million years bother to betray or cross Temari. She scared the heck out of her. "But if you don't mind me asking, why are you so focused on keeping it secret?"

"…My brothers are unnecessarily overbearing when it comes to my personal life. Of all the guys I've dated, they've scared all of them off, and I _really_ don't want them to scare away Shikamaru. Luckily Shikamaru doesn't mind us keeping it secret. He says it'll be too troublesome to deal with anyway."

"Brothers? How many do you have?" Mimi asked. She only knew of Kankuro.

"Just two—Kankuro and Gaara."

"Gaara…that name sounds familiar." Mimi said, and then it clicked, after she remembered the conversation she had with Matsuri last night. "Your brother's the Kazekage?! So that means that Kankuro…"

"Yeah…"

"Wow, my mind is blown." Mimi said. "So you and Kankuro are like royalty! I'm sorry if I've ever said anything rude—"

"Oh, don't start with that. It's okay." Temari said. "You haven't been rude at all."

"Oh, okay," Mimi said, relieved. "Well, I would be scared to date you too, if I were a guy, then. Having the Kazekage alone as your brother is enough of a threat. But to have Kankuro too—well, I feel sorry for that Shikamaru guy."

"That helps," Temari said hopelessly.

"Honestly, it's a miracle that they haven't found out yet, from the way you're making it sound."

"The only reason they haven't is because he lives three days away. The last time he was here was two weeks ago."

"Oh, that's got to suck." Mimi said.

"We try our best to spend as much time together as possible when he's here," Temari said. "And we're put to work together often…why am I even telling you this?"

That was a good question. "I don't know," Mimi said, shrugging. "But your secret is safe with me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro grumpily walked back to Gaara's office, realizing that he probably would prefer avoiding old people as much as he would avoid children. The elderly woman kept nagging him about watering the plants a specific way the _whole_ time. It was only the first day and he didn't want to imagine what else Gaara had in store for him.

"Sit down," Gaara said calmly, not bothering to look away from his work.

Kankuro sat and waited until his brother was ready to dictate his next assignment, which he prayed wasn't as stupid as the one he just did.

"I want to remind you that on top of these missions I assign to you, you must keep an eye on Himitsu."

Kankuro groaned. "Fine."

"Do this wisely, Kankuro. If she is hiding something, she won't be obvious."

"Are you implying I have to spy on her?"

"Only until you get an idea of her daily routine. After that, you can investigate other aspects."

Kankuro didn't like the sound of it, but he was sure he would get an idea of her routine in about a week or two, and then after that, he won't have to do it anymore. Still, it was weird.

"I assigned Temari to show Himitsu around today, so she should be with her right now."

"Do you seriously think that midget is enough of a threat for you to assign Temari?"

"I trust Temari's judgement."

Kankuro sighed. Well, doing this was better than watering some old lady's plants. Even then, it would be a really boring month.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When Kankuro caught up with Temari and Mimi, they were at a local food market, buying some stuff.

"Are you hungry? I can cook you dinner," Mimi told Temari as she was putting produce into a basket.

"Are you sure?" Temari said.

"Of course! Take it as my way of thanking you for today," Mimi told her as she purchased the things she needed, leaving the market.

"Uh, I don't know…" Temari said, sounding unsure.

"Aw, why not? You've never gotten invited over for dinner at someone's house or something?"

"No, it's not that…I just don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do this."

"I don't feel obligated," Mimi said. "I'd rather not eat dinner alone."

"Fine." Temari said. "If you insist."

"Awesome. It's been a while since I've cooked a real dinner for someone. The last person I cooked for was Yujiro…that jerk."

"Maybe we could exchange recipes," Temari suggested. "I've been thinking of trying something new, and I wanted to do something nice for him."

"Sure," Mimi said.

And blah blah blah blah blah. Is this the kind of stuff girls talked about? Apart of him was thinking maybe the D-rank missions weren't so bad. This was more boring than…a lot of things. He didn't know Temari had it in her to be like this. He wasn't sure who Yujiro was, but he assumed he was probably an ex. And Temari seemed to want to do something nice for someone. Was she dating someone else?

He reluctantly followed them to Mimi's place to get more information. He should strangle Gaara for subjecting him to this crap.

He found a place to be discreet, but close enough to hear the two girls.

"We should plan a day where we can teach each other the new recipes," Mimi suggested as she was starting to cook the dinner.

"That would be nice. When can we do that? I want to do it soon so I can have everything ready when the time comes."

"Next week would be good for me. I'm going to be busy for the rest of the week. I have a whole bunch of stuff to do, and I have so many errands to run tomorrow."

"What are you going to be up to tomorrow?" Temari inquired.

"Well, I want to speak to the landlord about starting to rent this apartment because I've taken a liking to it, and then I need to go to the library to fix up a resume and other documents so I can look for work. Since you've showed me around, I've noted a few places in mind that I can apply for…and I really need to organize. I already see the beginnings of a mess starting to form in the room."

Temari was smart—she was trying to make conversation with her to see if she could pick up on anything suspicious. But the rest of the conversation was pretty meaningless drabble that Kankuro did not find interesting at all. But at least he heard something that Gaara would be particularly interested in, which was her resume. It might give clues if she has plans of doing anything, especially depending on where she would be applying. He could follow her to the library tomorrow and steal a copy when she wasn't looking.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is…heavily uninteresting," Gaara said, as his teal eyes scanned over the documents that Kankuro managed to steal from Mimi while she was in the library. Being that she was applying to quite a few places, she had a few copies. "Was there anything that she did during the day that looked out of the ordinary?"

"No," Kankuro said. "She did exactly what she said she was going to do when I was listening in on her and Temari's conversation yesterday."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," Kankuro said. "It's so boring it's torture. The most interesting thing I heard was that Temari wants to do something nice for some guy."

"Is that so?" Gaara said, looking up from the boring papers that he was reading. "What guy?"

"I don't know. She didn't say a name."

"I see."

"She's going to see Mimi again next week. I'll probably figure it out by then."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks later, after doing a list of errands that a villager wanted him to do (another stupid mission), he went to go check up on Mimi. At this point, he found it completely pointless, being that throughout the weeks she hasn't done_ anything_ remotely interesting…at all. If this was the way she was leading her life in the Land of Snow, he finally understood why she wanted to jump off a roof. He would have gotten bored to death with that life too. She eventually did find work as an accountant in some spa company, and she did her job just like anyone would do. She ended up making a friend named Rubi some girl with red hair who was one of the estheticians there. They would hang out like typical girls and there was nothing suspicious going on. He tried to listen in on Temari and Mimi's conversations since they would see each other every week, but every time he was about to hear the name of the guy she apparently was dating, there would be a loud noise or an interruption, and he would miss it. He figured that spying was getting useless, and he would have to start investigating differently. So far, Mimi didn't seem like much of a threat at all to the sand village, but he had to listen to Gaara's orders. He couldn't wait until this was over so he can go back on missions again.

Sighing in boredom and frustration, he spotted Mimi coming out of work, with one of those cloths over her head that his sensei used to wear, except it covered everything but her eyes. She was harder to find when she wore these. He noticed she didn't wear them all the time, just on days where it was really sunny. Luckily he could spot her by her height since her face was covered.

"Hey Kankuro, I haven't seen you for a while," Mimi said, approaching him when he decided to make himself visible. "Were you away on another mission?"

"Yeah," he said. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. "I see the sun still bothers you. You look like a miniature ghost in that thing."

Mimi laughed. "I'd rather look like a ghost than get sunburn. But the sun isn't as bright anymore," she said, taking the cloth off. "I never got to thank you for giving me the opportunity to stay here. I'm much happier, and your sister's such a sweetheart. I wish I could see her more often, but I know she must be very busy."

"My sister a sweetheart? Are you sure you're talking about the right person?"

"Don't be mean. She may be a bit…rough on the edges, but she really cares about you."

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled, looking at the midget. Her hair was loose, falling down to her waist. When she took off her cloth, he noticed she looked…prettier. She usually wore her hair up, but she looked nicer with it down. He didn't know it was so long. There was something different about her that he couldn't put his finger on. He looked lower, seeing that she was wearing a simple toga styled white dress. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it did fit her small frame nicely.

"Hey, Mimi! There you are!"

"Hey, Rubi," Mimi said, waving. "I was waiting for you."

"We're still going to the bar, right? Happy hour's starting soon." Rubi said, then noticing the guy standing near Mimi. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Kankuro. He just came back from a mission." Mimi said. "Kankuro, this is my friend, Rubi."

"Hello," Rubi said, then turning to Mimi. "Me and my friend are gonna have a contest on who can down the most shots."

"Don't you think that's a bit dangerous?" Mimi asked Rubi.

"Ha, you haven't seen me and him do it yet! He's beaten me twice, and I've only beaten him once. I'm trying to have a draw."

"The thought of that just scares me," Mimi said. "I think I'm going to have to walk you home tonight. Hey Kankuro, want to come with us? I don't think you'd want to miss out on this."

But he didn't answer.

"Kankuro!" Mimi said, tapping him lightly.

"Huh?" He asked.

"What's wrong with you? I hope you didn't get poisoned again," Mimi said. "I was asking if you wanted to come with us to the bar. Were you even paying attention?"

Rubi snickered. "Doesn't seem like it."

"What's so funny?" Mimi asked.

"Ooooh, nothing…" Rubi said, smirking at Kankuro. "So, wanna come with us?"

"Sure," he said, looking away from Rubi. It would give him a better opportunity to "investigate." A part of him thought that Gaara was just making him do this as part of his punishment. It was starting to become pointless. Though this Rubi girl looks like the type to get caught up in drama. He didn't understand how Mimi could be friends with her.

"I wonder where your friend is, Rubi," Mimi said. "He should be here by now, and I want to meet him if he's as cool as you say he is."

"Trust me, he's fun."

"What's his name again? R—ahh!" Mimi said, jumping as she saw a kunai shoot right past her towards Kankuro. Kankuro caught it easily.

"Oh, God, not this guy," Kankuro said, tossing the kunai on the floor in frustration.

"Good catch, Kankuro," A guy with messy white hair said, walking toward him. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you in this part of town."

Mimi could swear she saw a vein pop in Kankuro's head.

"You guys know each other?" Rubi asked the white haired guy.

"Unfortunately," Kankuro said. Great, now he had to deal with _this_ moron.

"Why so upset, Kankuro? Scared of your rival?"

"You're not my rival if I keep beating you," Kankuro sneered. "Don't tell me Ryu, you have another stupid plan up your sleeve."

"Yes, I do have another plan, but it's not as stupid as you think!" Ryu said. "I have found a way to imitate you without the use of chakra strings! Wanna see?"

"I won't hold my breath," Kankuro mumbled. "I think we should start going to the bar," he said to Mimi.

"Wait one second!" Ryu said. "I challenge you to—"

"No." Kankuro said, cutting him off.

XXXXXXXXXXX

In the bar, Rubi and Ryu were doing exactly what she said they were going to do. So far, Ryu was winning.

"They're crazy," Mimi said to Kankuro as Rubi took another shot.

"Hn," Kankuro said. "At least he's not trying to start a fight with me."

Mimi bought a drink that the bartender suggested, taking a sip.

"Why do you dislike him so much?"

"Ever since I've been in the academy that guy's been trying to compete with me."

"I don't see any harm in that." Mimi said, taking a gulp of her drink.

"I wouldn't either if he wasn't such a jackass." Kankuro stated bluntly.

"Harsh. The sake's already going to your head?"

"I wish I could say that, but I'm serious. If I would have agreed to fight with him, he probably would have done something stupid like tie strings to a random person or something."

Mimi blurted out laughing. "_What? _I don't believe that!"

"You see, even to a normal villager it sounds stupid. He's been clowning around ever since we were kids, and I don't know why he has such a fixation on trying to beat me, and why he expects me to take him seriously when he does stuff like that. It's like he's mocking me. The first time he tried to fight me he got himself caught in his own trap."

"Well, there has to be something good about him if he's a shinobi. And he obviously looks up to you."

"Whatever," Kankuro said. "It's a miracle he graduated from the academy. He wanted to work with puppets, but his chakra control was terrible."

"That explains a lot." Mimi said, finishing her drink and requesting another one. "There's probably some resentment there since you're doing what he wanted to do."

"I'll see him as a rival when he decides to be serious," Kankuro said. "You're going to order another one of those? Those are pretty strong."

"Yeah, I feel fine." Mimi said.

"It's going to sneak up on you."

"But they taste so good," Mimi said, taking another sip when the bartender gave her another one.

"Fine," Kankuro said. He wasn't going to argue with her.

After an awkward silence, Kankuro decided would be a good time to ask more about Mimi, who was sitting there, almost done with her second mixed drink. It's what he was supposed to be doing anyway.

"Mimi."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you want to leave?"

And that's when she told him everything. It was a long story about how she doesn't remember who her parents are and felt jealous of other people who still had their parents, and how it turned her bitter and uninterested in making friends with anybody who didn't understand her. She said in retrospect she probably sounded like an angsty teenager, but she was young and stupid, which caused her to make stupid decisions which got her hurt and alone in the end.

"I thought I finallfound happiness in my ex, but he turn't outto be a cheatin' douche and it sucks because a part o' me still 'asfeelings for da idiot." She said. "…I dunno know what I was thinkinwhen I was on da roof o'da building. I guess I just wanted to call it quits because I felt like my life wasn't goinnowhere. It was really stupid of me to do, and it caused me to lose everything…but den I met you and you gave me dis super epic opportun-oppor…tunity and you're awesome for that. I like you a lot. I met nice people here and yoursistersawesome n menhertalk 'bout deep stuff too. I 'ppreciate what you done."

"What have you talked about with Temari?" He asked, curious.

"Nunya business." She stated flatly. "You gotta let her breatheleaveheralone."

Kankuro didn't expect that kind of reply from Mimi. She didn't seem like the type to be so upfront.

"I wananother drink." Mimi said. "Where's da bartender?"

"I think you've had enough to drink." Kankuro said.

"No I'mgood." Mimi denied. "I'm notevendrunkyet."

"Yeah, sure." He replied.

"Mimi!" Rubi said, walking to her. "Me and Ryu are hungry; we're gonna go get something to eat. I'll see you later."

"What 'bout that contest you guysweretalkin' bout?"

"We found out we were both cheating…anyways, I'll talk to you tomorrow or something."

Mimi laughed. "Youain'tgoin' out for somethin' to eat at dis time. Stop lyin."

Rubi laughed, and told her something in her ear that Kankuro couldn't hear. Mimi smiled. "Fine I'll talk to you t'morrow."

Kankuro hadn't noticed how much time passed by. Mimi was talking to him for a while, though. It was already dark outside.

"I could useacig'ret right now," Mimi said, fumbling for her wallet, dropping it on the floor when she found it.

"Damnit," Mimi said, leaning down to pick it up, but Kankuro already picked it up for her.

"Don't worry, I'll pay."

"No—"

"Let's go." He said.

"Okay," Mimi said. "Thankyou. Dis is whyyou're awesome."

As they walked outside, Mimi stumbled slightly, then turning to Kankuro.

"You knowwhere I couldgeta cig'ret?" She asked. "I wanone before I gohome."

"No," he said.

"Oh well, I doneed it anyway. Bye, it wasnice talkin' to you dude."

"I'm going to take you home. You could barely walk," he said. Maybe he shouldn't have let her have that second drink.

"Okayif youwant to, but I as'sureyouI'm fine."

Kankuro accompanied her as she stumbled to her house, and decided to pick her up halfway there, even though there was some resistance on her part. It was getting frustrating to be with someone walking like that after a couple of minutes. He put her down after they got to her door.

"Thanks," she said. "You'rereally niceeven thoughyoucall me midget."

"You are a midget." He joked.

"Y'know youcan stop by anytimeyou want. Idon't mind your company," she said.

He knew she didn't mean it that way, but he felt himself get red as other thoughts came to his mind.

"Uh…thanks," he said awkwardly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi was awakened by someone knocking on her door. She sat up and looked around, last night being fuzzy. _I really shouldn't have had that second drink_, Mimi thought, rubbing her head. She didn't remember much after that.

She looked around, apparently having thrown herself on the couch and fell asleep when she got home. She remembered being with Kankuro. Damn, there were things she _really_ shouldn't have said last night. She doesn't remember what she said specifically, but she had a feeling she probably said a bit too much.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Who could that be? It was her day off, and she wasn't expecting anyone. It was probably Rubi.

Opening the door, she saw someone that she would have least expected to pop up unexpectedly.

"…Temari?" Mimi asked, confused. They hadn't planned to meet today. Though she didn't mind, she could see that Temari looked troubled, so she had to be here for something important. Temari wasn't the type to come unannounced. Temari always let her know when she was coming beforehand. "Is everything okay?"

"…Can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course! Come in!" Mimi said. "I had wanted to spend more time with you."

"Thanks," she said, walking in and sitting on the couch. "Did you just wake up now? It's one o'clock. I hope you don't pick up on Shikamaru's habits."

"Oh, no," Mimi replied laughing. "I just…drank a bit too much at the bar last night."

"Oh," Temari said, smirking.

"Are you hungry?"

"No, far from it. I can't eat…"

"Are you still feeling sick from the food we made last week? I'm sorry if it didn't settle well." Mimi said. Last week, Temari had ended up throwing up everything she ate, but insisted that it was a stomach bug she had for the past couple of days.

"No, I'm just…at a loss right now."

"What's going on?" Mimi said, sitting down on the couch, concerned.

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, it's just…I don't know what to do…I have no one else to tell…" she said, sobbing.

Okay. Something was _definitely_ wrong. Temari never cries. Ever.

"You're not bothering me. What's wrong Temari? I want to help you!"

Temari stood quiet for a minute, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"It wasn't the food that was making me sick. I-I thought it was a stomach bug, but I've been throwing up all the time now…and I missed my period…so I…I took a pregnancy test…it came out positive…" Temari said, sobbing. "I'm pregnant…I can't believe this…I'm so stupid."

Holy shit. Well, that was definitely the shocker of Mimi's morning.

"You're not stupid, Temari." Was all Mimi could say. This news came as a shock to her. Even she didn't have anything to say to that. "This can happen to anyone. Do you want the baby? Do you feel ready?"

"Yes, I do want it," she said. "That's not what I'm concerned about…what will Shikamaru think? I'm not sure if he's going to want the baby. I don't even know when he's coming back. I know it's sometime soon…but I'm so nervous…how am I going to tell him? How am I going to tell this to my brothers? They don't even know I was seeing someone! They'll kill him…this is terrible…"

Mimi took a minute, trying to find the right words.

"The most important thing right now is for you to just stay calm. You cannot afford to be stressed out right now. You don't want it to affect the baby." Mimi said, trying to formulate her thoughts. "And secondly, once Shikamaru comes, you have to tell him. Then you guys can work something out together…and you'll at least know what he thinks about it."

"And what about my brothers?"

Mimi sighed. "It's completely your decision if you want to tell them or not, but I can tell you this: you can't hide it forever, Temari. Lord Kazekage's especially going to notice you bailing out on all your missions. You can't go on missions pregnant."

"Ugh, I know…" Temari said, holding her head in her hands.

"You know, if you don't want to talk to anyone right now, you can pack some clothes and stay at my place for a while, as long as you feel comfortable," Mimi said putting her hand on her shoulder. "I understand how much it can suck being all alone with all these conflicted emotions. I don't want you to feel like you're alone on this."

"…Thank you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Up North at the Land of Snow…_

In a meeting room in a tower where the village elders resided, sat a group with investigators, shinobi, and the elders themselves. The air of the room was heavy and serious, finally feeling like they were going somewhere with the investigation.

"We need to find leads on this investigation as soon as possible," Shimo-sama stated. "We have one of the best banks in the land. If news goes out of the island that something was stolen and that one of the employees missing was a traitor, it would not end up well for our village."

"We are currently increasing and improving the security of our bank, Shimo-sama. But we are still investigating the identities of the three shinobi who robbed the bank. Currently our most experienced investigators are interviewing the employees of the bank to see if we get any leads," Shiru, a high level Snow shinobi said to the village elder. "They recently obtained information on the sand shinobi, and should be able to figure out the identities if the interviews of the employees are successful. As of now, the information we have so far is that these shinobi originated from Sunagakure."

"Good, so we know where to go so we can get the scroll back," Shimo-sama stated.

"And what of the traitor?" One of the other snow shinobi asked.

"She is not allowed here anymore," Shimo-sama retorted.

"Shimo-sama," one of the investigators said, "I understand your concern for the village, but we must also find the traitor and question her. Even though she tried to attempt suicide, she could have still been forced to cooperate with these rogue shinobi against her will. If this is the case, it would be our responsibility to ensure her safety and her urgent return as well. From the looks of it, her mental state was very vulnerable, and open to suggestion. If this is the case, we must retrieve her immediately if she is still alive."

"Very well then," Shimo-sama stated. "We need to find a way to get to Sunagakure. I have heard the travel there is not easy. The terrain of the desert makes it heavily protected and hard to find."

"I have a solution to this issue, Shimo-sama." Shiru stated. "Our investigators found a shinobi currently residing in Konohagakure, who visits Sunagakure very often. His name is Shikamaru Nara, from the Nara clan. We can get our shinobi to disguise as villagers who are travelers, and need a guide. However, he has an IQ of 200 or higher, and will be able to figure out fairly quickly what our plans are if we are not careful. The shinobi of Sunagakure appear to be very powerful as well. It took many of us to try and fight one, and they all still escaped almost unscathed. It's quite impressive they were able to rob this bank. The Kazekage is said to be extremely powerful as well."

"Well then I will have to go personally to the Arctic Circle and talk to the residents of the village there. We will need their power, and their kekkei genkai to be able to fight if it is needed."

"And if they do not cooperate?"

"I will inform the other islands and the main land to cut off their imports. Their population is growing and there is not enough food from the wild there to sustain them without them posing a risk to the environment. They will not have a choice." Shimo-sama stated. "I am very impressed with your work, Shiru. You are all dismissed. Report back to me when the identities of the three shinobi are found. I will send a telegram to Konohagakure requesting Shikamaru Nara."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Do you remember the face at all?" One of the investigators asked Yujiro, whose nose was covered in a large bandage, still healing from the assault.

"Give me a minute…I _was_ brutally attacked, after all." Yujiro said.

"Right…" the other investigator said.

"It was all so fast. One minute I was begging for my life, and the next minute I was punched. One thing I can say was that he was wearing all black from head to toe, and his face was painted."

"Is this the man you're talking about?" The investigator asked, showing a picture of the shinobi he described after looking through a deck of profiles of the many shinobi in Suna.

Yujiro looked down, eyes widened. "Yes! Yes! That's him! That's definitely the same guy."

"Kankuro…" the other investigator said. "Did you see the other two shinobi?"

"No, only him. He was the only one I saw in the bank."

"Okay," The investigator replied. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"Let's go, we have to report this to Shimo-sama."

**A/N: And that ends the chapter. There was a LOT of dialogue in this chapter; a bit too much for my liking. I'll try to even out the amount of dialogue and narration in the next chapter.**


	6. Secrets Revealed

**A/N:** **Next chapter =]**

_A week later in Konoha…_

Choji eyed Shikamaru, trying to figure out what his next move was going to be. Shikamaru looked barely interested, getting ready to plant his next move.

"Can you at least look like I'm a challenge?" Choji asked him, shoving a handful of chips in his mouth.

"Sorry," Shikamaru said, doing his final move. "I win."

Choji tossed the game pieces in frustration. "I give up! I can't _ever_ win! I really thought I had you this time!"

"No, I was just being nice and let you take the lead for a while," Shikamaru joked.

Choji gave him a not-very-soft playful punch on his arm, causing Shikamaru to rub it. "Ouch, you really don't know your own strength."

"Sorry buddy, I always forget." Choji said guiltily. "Want some chips?"

"No thanks. Let's play another round," he said, lighting a cigarette.

Choji looked at him, concerned. "You've barely been eating. All you've been doing is smoking and playing Go. It's not healthy."

Shikamaru sighed. He knew his friend was right. "I know."

"You miss her, don't you?" Choji said, knowing what was on his friend's mind.

Shikamaru looked down, lost in his own thoughts.

"I hate that she's so far away. I know I have duties, but anything can happen. Letters just aren't enough sometimes." Shikamaru said. "That's why the next time I go to Suna, I'm going to ask her to marry me. I'm tired of this long distance crap. It's troublesome."

Choji's eyes widened. "Really?! I didn't think you had it in you, Shika!"

Shikamaru took something out of his pocket, showing his friend an engagement ring.

"Oh my God! She's going to love it, Shikamaru! I'm so excited!" A very pregnant Ino said, popping up.

Shikamaru jumped. He immediately turned off his cigarette. "A warning would be nice, woman. I was smoking!"

"You should stop that anyway. It's gross," Ino said, putting one of her hands over her belly.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear enough of that from Temari." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Shouldn't you be home, Ino?" Choji asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I was out getting some groceries, and Sakura told me to find Shikamaru because the Hokage wants to talk to him."

"You and Sakura shouldn't be walking around vulnerable. Why didn't you send Sai to tell him?" Choji said.

"We're pregnant, not handicapped." Ino said. "Is that why I barely see Karui? You should give her some freedom. She'll be fine."

"I just want to make sure she's safe. Our baby is due next month." Choji said. "But you really should be staying home. That baby looks like it might come out any minute. Right Shikamaru?"

"I'm more shocked at the fact that everyone is pregnant around the same time. A part of me thinks all you troublesome women planned this."

"It would have been cool if we did, but it's really just a coincidence. And if we did plan it, Temari would have been in on it too!"

"It would be cool if it was planned though," Choji said thoughtfully. "Then we would be able to do ino-shika-cho!"

"Speaking of that," Ino said to Shikamaru. "You should be going to the Hokage. Sakura mentioned something about you going to Suna."

Internally, Shikamaru wanted to do backflips. He couldn't wait to leave. "Alright, alright, woman. Don't nag me," he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You were requested by villagers in the Land of Snow to take them to Sunagakure," the Hokage told Shikamaru. "I've already sent a telegram to the Kazekage to inform him of future visitors. You depart tomorrow."

"I can leave today," Shikamaru suggested.

The copy nin chuckled. "I wouldn't expect you to be so eager to do work, Shikamaru. It's not like you at all." He teased, knowing full well the reason he wanted to leave so quickly. "I wouldn't have a problem with you departing today, but the villagers should be arriving in the area by tomorrow. Be ready tomorrow morning, so don't forget to put your alarm on. Don't be late. You're dismissed."

_He should be the last one telling people not to be late,_ Shikamaru thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_At the Land of Snow…_

"How do you know they're not all dead, Shimo-sama?" Shiru asked her, while they were walking through the peaceful, white roads of the village.

"We've already sent a search in the deep woods to see if they found bodies, and they still haven't found any. Almost every inch of that forest was checked. They had to have escaped with Himitsu's help." Shimo-sama said, looking at the horizon in contemplation. "When I talked to the people of the village in the north of the island, they mentioned a group of four people that they sent on ships down south. One of them was from here, because she understood their dialect. That girl had to have been Himitsu, which means that they got away with the scroll, and a hostage. Luckily we were able to identify one of the shinobi. That would be enough to track the location of the scroll."

"Did you manage to get them to help us?" Shiru said.

"They don't have a choice. They will do what it takes to protect their environment and the animals that live there. It is sacred to them. They were reluctant, but I managed to convince them."

"I don't think it would be wise to take such aggressive measures just yet, Shimo-sama."

"I don't plan to be so reckless, Shiru," Shimo-sama said. "The mission for now is to take a look around the village to find its weak points, and also to see if the three wanted shinobi and the hostage are there. They would be able to tell us what happened to the scroll. If that scroll joins the others, nothing other than an apocalyptic catastrophe would occur. This can't happen. If we cannot take the scroll back in secret, we will have no choice but to inform the Kazekage what is in the nature of that scroll."

"We can't do that, Shimo-sama! There must be another way!" Shiru said. "This is a time where the Queen would have been most useful."

"Don't say such blasphemy, Shiru. The mistakes of our village's past cannot be repeated. We valued power over wisdom, and it almost led to our demise. Even the people of the village up north would agree that we are better off running our village with experienced elders."

"I'm sorry, Shimo-sama, you are right." Shiru said. "But what if the Kazekage refuses to negotiate?"

Shimo-sama sighed. "I have faith that the Kazekage will heed our words if it comes to that. He is highly respected and has a great reputation despite his young age. If he does refuse, however, we will have no choice but to start a war. That is the worst case scenario, and a scenario I pray will not happen. A war with Sunagakure would be a guarantee of the deaths of many of our own shinobi. Throughout the years, their reputation of powerful shinobi has grown."

"You're right, Shimo-sama. I can still barely believe that the sand shinobi who broke into our village were able to fight all of us off with such ease, especially the one with the face paint. It was reported that he managed to obtain the scroll all by himself, fighting off a whole bunch of us. I must say it was impressive."

Shimo-sama sighed. "With the help of Himitsu-san…the investigators were right. I may have been too hard on her. We may have been more successful if I hadn't kicked her out of our village. It was a huge mistake on my part."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Shimo-sama. According to the employees in the bank, Himitsu-san had always been quite a bitter and resentful person. She was bound to do something of this sort sooner or later."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_A couple of days later…_

"You've improved so much, Matsuri," Gaara said as they finished their training together.

Matsuri turned pink, looking down. "T-thank you, Lord Kazekage. I wouldn't have been able to improve without your help."

Gaara walked closer to her. "Are you implying that I'm your reason to work harder?"

Matsuri looked up into those beautiful teal eyes that Matsuri had grown used to. She had stood silent for a minute, not really sure how to answer that question, or why he would even ask it.

"…Yes, Lord Kazekage," she finally said, going with a simple answer. "You are my motivation to work harder. After you had gotten kidnapped, I vowed that I would become strong enough to protect you so it would never happen again."

"…Thank you, Matsuri," Gaara said to her. "I feel the same way about you."

"Huh?" Matsuri said in confusion.

"I wasn't the only one who had gotten kidnapped."

"Oh—right." Matsuri said, looking down.

There was a long silence. Matsuri was used to this because of Gaara's quiet nature, but for some reason, the silence felt different this time, and for the first time, it was Gaara to break the silence.

"I told you that you can address me by my first name, Matsuri," he said, taking her hands.

Matsuri looked up at him, noticing that the distance between them was getting smaller. She hadn't been this close to him in a long time, and it was making her uncomfortable. He wasn't acting like his usual self.

"I hope you know you are very precious to me," he said to her.

Matsuri felt her heart hammering in her chest as she looked into his eyes. She was speechless. Did this mean what she thought it meant? Her heart was telling her to just kiss him, but she held back. A part of her was scared that she was probably misinterpreting this. Maybe this was just all platonic, though she hoped it wasn't.

And as all these conflicting thoughts between reason and emotion were wrestling in her head, she saw him lean closer to her. Was he going to kiss her? It had happened before, but the both of them buried it and agreed that it was best for it to be forgotten. They knew it was taboo. But that was so long ago. What would be the difference now? She didn't want the same thing to happen again. It would be too much for her heart to handle. But she wanted to so badly again…if only—

"Yo! Gaara! Shikamaru's waiting for you!" Matsuri heard a familiar voice say, interrupting her thoughts…and their second kiss. She internally sighed in disappointment.

Gaara stepped back immediately, seeing that it was Kankuro who called to him.

Gaara nodded. "I was expecting him. I will be there shortly."

Gaara turned to Matsuri. "I will see you soon."

Matsuri nodded. "Um…I have some errands to run that I planned to finish after training," she said, running off abnormally quick.

Kankuro snickered after she ran off, turning to Gaara. Did he just see what he thought he saw? He couldn't believe this. Gaara wasn't as cold as he thought. It all made sense, now. He remembered a long time ago, when Gaara sparked up a conversation about love. He thought it was weird, but he didn't think much of it back then, because Gaara was always doing things Kankuro didn't understand. But now it makes sense. Around that time, he was training with Matsuri very often. No wonder he always found time to train with her on top of his other duties.

"Gaara, you know you can speak to me about anything," Kankuro said to Gaara, smirking.

"There is nothing to talk about." Gaara said sharply.

"Doesn't look that way." Kankuro joked.

"There was nothing going on. She is my student and that is all." He said, walking away quickly, leaving Kankuro behind before he could reply.

Kankuro shrugged. It wasn't that much of a big deal to him, but Gaara was like that. He wondered where Temari was. He had a feeling she was avoiding him for some reason, but he didn't know what he did wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru was tense as he waited for the Kazekage. Of all the missions he had to do, this had to be the hardest and most deadly. He already bid his friends his last dying words if he were to not come back. He was throwing himself in a lion's den, but it had to be done if he wanted to be able to be with the most important woman of his life. He would do anything for her, even if it was risking getting in a death battle with the Kazekage—in a desert. He would have never expected to get himself into such a troublesome situation for a girl, but like father, like son.

He took a deep breath as he saw Gaara getting clearer as he got closer in the distance. Ironically, he would rather speak to Gaara about this first than Kankuro. Gaara was a bit more lenient when he came to Temari, so if he got through to him first, it would be easier to get through to Kankuro, who was extremely stubborn. Still, Gaara was more deadly, so it's a lose-lose situation.

"Hello, Shikamaru. I apologize for making you wait, come with me." Gaara said as he gestured to follow him.

They ended up in his office, and he sat down behind his desk.

"I was sent on this mission by the Hokage, to escort some tourists from the Land of Snow." Shikamaru said.

"Yes, I received his telegram."

"I wanted to report to you that I think we should keep an eye on these…tourists. While escorting them, they didn't act like normal tourists. I don't know what they're here for, but they're definitely hiding something."

"You are right for thinking that. Kankuro was sent on a mission there recently…let's just say it'll make sense for them to be coming around here. I've allowed them in to see what they are here for and to try and negotiate with them. I would like to avoid any issues with other villages. Was there anything you heard them say that was out of the ordinary?"

"That's the weird thing. They barely talked at all. They were pretty quiet for just being tourists. You would think they would be more excited."

"Interesting." Gaara said. "Are you planning on staying here a while?"

"Yes." Shikamaru said.

"I hope it wouldn't be much of a bother for you to keep an eye on them, to see if you pick up on something. But I think I already have a clue what they're looking for." Gaara said. Kankuro had given him the scroll after he came back from the mission. He had then given it to the nobleman requesting the scroll.

"I can do that," Shikamaru said.

"Good. You are dismissed." Gaara stated.

But Shikamaru gulped, standing there, frozen. His heart was ready for this, but his mind wasn't. A part of him was telling him to just walk away, but he couldn't do that. He had to do this. It was now or never.

"I said you are dismissed," Gaara said, taking a sip of his tea, noticing he was still there.

But memories of the old Gaara started coming to his head…that time he was with Naruto during the Chunnin exams…how he mercilessly got rid of that shinobi, and how it left Naruto and Shikamaru paralyzed with fear.

"Is there anything else you need?" Gaara said, growing impatient.

Well, it was now or never.

"I want to marry your sister." He blurted out.

Gaara almost choked on his tea as he took another sip, putting the cup down before he nearly dropped it.

"Excuse me?" Gaara said, looking up at him skeptically.

"I said I want to marry your sister—"

"Now is not the time for jokes, especially ones about my sister. I can barely tolerate them from Naruto. Enough with this inane behavior. You are dismissed. And please refrain from picking up Naruto's habits." Gaara said irritably.

But Gaara noticed Shikamaru did not leave. This was getting him agitated. He didn't have time for this nonsense.

"I'm serious." He heard Shikamaru say.

Gaara gave him a deadly glare, standing up. Gaara immediately noticed he was unable to move.

"Nara, if you don't get me out of this _this instant_, I _will_ show you how fast my sand can move, even if I cannot." Gaara said angrily.

Whoa, Shikamaru did not like that comment. He was definitely a gonner. "I'll let you go if you just listen to me, please…I beg you."

Gaara stared at him for what felt like ages. Shikamaru never thought someone could give him such a deadly stare. It shivered his soul.

"You realize you have a lot of explaining to do if you are serious," Gaara stated, crossing his arms.

"I know," Shikamaru said, letting him go.

In an instant, he was surrounded by sand.

"Explain," Gaara said. "The first thing I would like to know is why I was not made aware of this until now."

Shikamaru sighed. The things he did for this woman. "I am deeply sorry for not informing you sooner," Shikamaru started. "The only reason I held it off was because it was Temari's wishes…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi was in the market again, shopping for more produce. Temari had taken her offer of using her house as refuge from her brothers, and Temari has managed to avoid them for the last couple of days. But since Temari was staying there most of the time, she had to get more food since Temari was eating for two, between the morning sickness. Luckily, the morning sickness hasn't been as bad, but she still gets it. She reminded herself to get the pickles and peanut butter. Temari had been very demanding of it, as gross as it sounded.

Mimi tiptoed for the peanut butter, but it was out of her reach.

"Darn, not this again," Mimi said, cursing her height.

But she saw another hand grab the peanut butter from behind her.

"Here you go, midget," a voice said. She already knew who it was.

"Oh, hello, Kankuro. Thank you." She said, taking it. "And I'm not a midget, I'm just fun size." She said defensively.

"…That's a midget." He said, laughing. "Is that what you tell yourself?"

Mimi gave him a flat look. "What do you want, Kankuro?"

"I'm just joking with you, sheesh." Kankuro said. "I think your height is cute."

"Yeah, whatever," Mimi grumbled, taking the last of what she needed from the market.

"I see the sun is still bothering you," he said.

"So what, are you going to call me a ghost again?"

"No, I just think you should take it off," he said, referring to that cloth over her head. She was starting to get different designs and every time he saw her she had a different one on.

"I'll take mine off if you take yours off," Mimi retorted, knowing he wasn't going to. It was her way of shutting him up.

"How about you try taking it off for me if it bothers you so much? Oh wait, you probably can't reach."

Mimi couldn't help but laugh. This guy had jokes. She rolled her eyes, purchasing what she needed, and walked out of the market into the blistering sun.

"Wait," Kankuro said, following Mimi.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you if you've seen Temari. I think she's been avoiding me."

Mimi was lucky she had the cloth on her face, because she was a terrible liar and her facial expression would have given herself away.

"Oh, is that so?" Mimi said, playing dumb. "Why would she be avoiding you?"

"I don't know. I thought she would have told you something being that you and her have been all buddy buddy lately and telling each other secrets."

"We're not 'telling each other secrets,'" Mimi stated. "I don't know where you came down with that conclusion. We're just exchanging recipes and doing normal stuff. I don't even see her that often."

"Where's Temari?" Kankuro asked.

"I don't know," Mimi lied. "I assure you she's fine. She probably just wants some alone time."

"You're a terrible liar." He told her. "I know you know where she is. Stop playing stupid, you twig, or I'll snap you in two."

"I already told you I don't know. Now stop giving me empty threats. It's not gonna make me say any more than what I already know."

"Fine, I'll do it the hard way, then, and tell the Kazekage."

Mimi froze for a split second, then thought of Temari's well-being. Temari needed some time to think this through before she will end up telling her brothers anything, and she wasn't about to crack just because he threatened to tell the Kazekage. It sounded scary, but she was just gonna have to deal with it then. Temari put her trust on her and she wasn't going to ruin that just because Kankuro wanted to be stubborn and pushy. A part of her felt bad because she knew he was concerned, but she couldn't tell him. That was for Temari to tell him, not her.

"Go ahead then," Mimi snapped. "I already said I don't know anything."

She walked away, not wanting to hear any more of this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I was looking all over for you, you troublesome woman," Temari heard a familiar voice say. She was standing on the top of a roof, looking over Suna. She now understood why her brother would do this. It gave her peace of mind.

She couldn't believe it. Was he really here? She turned around, to see the lazy genius, _her_ lazy genius, standing before her.

"Shikamaru…" she said, hugging him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he said, kissing her head. "Can we get off of this roof? I want to talk to you about something important."

"I need to tell you something important, too…" Temari said. "But let's go somewhere else first."

"How about I take you out somewhere? To the nicest restaurant in Suna?"

"You don't have to do that, Shikamaru—"

"I insist. You deserve it. Not being around you was painful enough. I want to do something nice for you. Come on," he said, gently taking her hand.

Temari followed him, hoping that he would feel the same way once she broke the news to him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You look beautiful," Shikamaru said to Temari as they were eating the best food in all of Suna.

"Oh, stop it. I'm not even dressed up today," She said, embarrassed.

"That doesn't mean anything. You know I love you."

"I love you too, Shikamaru." Temari said, smiling.

"That's why I told your brother about us."

Temari looked straight at him, almost angry, but more worried. "What?! Which one?! Shikamaru….why would you do that?"

"I told Gaara. Granted, I almost died in the process, but I didn't care. I got tired of hiding it, Temari. So I told him everything."

"What about Kankuro?"

"…I couldn't find him. I have no idea where he went, so I was going to talk to him later."

"…And what did you tell Gaara?"

"That I'm sorry for not telling him sooner. That I love you more than anything, and I would do anything for you. I would protect you. I would even die for you…I basically begged him. And I told him that I want to marry you."

Temari couldn't believe her ears. Was Shikamaru really telling her this?

"…What?" Was all she could say.

"I showed him this." Shikamaru said, getting down on one knee.

No, this couldn't be happening right now…this had to be a dream. Temari saw the most beautiful diamond ring she'd ever seen.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Of course!" Temari said, feeling tears of joy starting to spill from her eyes as he put the ring on.

He wiped her tears away. "I thought I was supposed to be the crybaby," he joked before kissing her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi climbed on top of the counter, putting the food she just bought in the cabinets, since they were too high for her to reach. A few moments later, there was a loud knock on the door, making her jump and slip off the counter.

_Thump._

"Ouuuuch…" Mimi said, rubbing her arm. At least she didn't hit her head this time.

She walked to the door, expecting Temari. She wasn't home when Mimi had come in.

"…Kankuro?" She said as she opened the door. She had forgotten that she gave Temari a copy of her keys. She didn't have to knock.

This guy was so damn stubborn. She knew what he was here for. She let him in, knowing there was no arguing with him. And lucky for her, Temari wasn't here.

"What the hell were you doing?" Kankuro asked curiously, hearing the loud thump from the outside of her apartment.

"Putting the groceries away."

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine." Mimi said. If she told him what happened, he would never let her live it down.

But he seemed to have figured it out, looking at where the groceries were located. He just smirked.

"You should be more careful," was all he said.

"I'm surprised you're not making fun of my everyday struggles as a 'midget'." Mimi said.

"No, I had enough making fun of you today. I came for another reason."

Mimi rolled her eyes. Here we go again. "And what is that reason?"

"Temari is staying here, isn't she? That's why you were at the market again."

Mimi didn't have the cloth over her head to hide her face. "No, can you stop with this? She's not here; I don't know where she's at. I'm very sorry, I can't help you."

"You're such a liar!"

"Am not!"

"Then why is Temari's shirt on your couch?" He said, picking up a purple shirt.

"That's mine." Mimi lied.

"Yeah, because it's like twice your size." Kankuro said. "Stop bullshitting me."

"I didn't know it was a crime to wear big t-shirts." Mimi said, getting annoyed.

"Yeah, and it's completely normal to wear shoes a size bigger than your feet, too."

Mimi looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Those." He said, pointing to one of Temari's shoes scattered in the hallway near the room.

"Those aren't hers, those are Rubi's."

"You're a terrible liar. Temari wears those all the time."

"Stop interrogating me!" Mimi said. "Weren't you going to go see your brother or something?"

Before Kankuro could reply, Mimi's door opened again, Temari and a man with a spiky ponytail walking in. This must be Shikamaru. Mimi had wanted to meet him…but now _really_ wasn't the time.

_Uh oh_…Mimi thought when she saw the look on Kankuro's face when they both walked in.

"Temari, I was looking all over for you—what the fuck is this?" He said after he saw the ring on her finger. It was hard to miss. It was a really big, beautiful diamond. Wow, Mimi was so happy for her! But…chaos was about to erupt. She'll congratulate her later.

"Kankuro, let me explain—" Temari said, but he already grabbed Shikamaru, his fist raised.

"I'm going to give you five seconds to explain this shit." He said to Shikamaru.

"Kankuro, get off of him! You're being ridiculous!" Temari said, trying to pull him off.

"Temari, no!" Mimi said, rushing to her and gently walked Temari to the couch before going to try and get Kankuro off of Shikamaru herself…but there was another knock on the door.

This was just getting too chaotic. Who could it be _now_?

"…Lord Kazekage?" Mimi said. Well, that was one person she was not expecting at all.

"Hello, Himitsu. I'm sorry to bother you. I wanted to know if you've seen Kankuro. I have been looking for him to tell him something important."

"Get me out of your stupid jutsu, _now_!" Mimi and Gaara heard Kankuro say.

"Not until you give me more than five seconds to explain," they heard Shikamaru say.

"Well, I seem to have found him," the Kazekage said.

"Um…you can come in if you like…" Mimi said.

She didn't know if letting the Kazekage into this chaos was the politest thing, but she didn't know what else to do. The person he was looking for was here, after all.

"Fine, you have ten seconds."

"Let him go, Shikamaru, I will explain it to him." Gaara said as he walked inside.

Shikamaru let him go, and Kankuro took the opportunity to grab him again. "Not before I knock him once."

"No!" Mimi said, rushing in between them before he could hit him. "Please stop this! Listen to the Kazekage!"

"Himitsu, please sit on the couch," Gaara said, pulling her gently from between the two guys.

Luckily, Kankuro had already let Shikamaru go, and was just staring daggers at him.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage," Mimi said, sitting next to Temari, giving her an apologetic look.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Mimi was serving all of her guests drinks as they talked over the whole situation. She was just grateful there was no fight. Poor Shikamaru. He seemed to be handling everything pretty well though.

Himitsu decided to spend most of her time in the kitchen, preparing something for her guests. She felt it wasn't her place to be in the middle of all that.

"Himitsu," Mimi heard from behind her.

"Lord Kazekage," Mimi said, turning around to see him standing at the entrance of the kitchen. "Would you like something else to drink?"

"No, thank you," he said. "I wanted to apologize for the inconvenience that was caused today. This is not the first time my brother's behavior has caused such chaos."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Lord Kazekage! I'm just glad everything is figured out."

He nodded. "I also want to thank you for offering hospitality to my sister in her time of need. I hope your intentions for my brother and my sister is good. I was shocked at Kankuro's reaction today."

"I assure you I have no bad intentions for your family or for the village. I wanted to thank you for allowing me hospitality in Suna." Mimi said. "But why were you so shocked at Kankuro's reaction? I would think it would be a normal reaction, since he had no knowledge of what was going on."

"I'm not referring to that. He is not an easy person to calm down when he is upset, but you seemed to have done it effortlessly. I thought I would have had to resort to using my sand on him."

"Really?" Mimi said, a bit surprised. "I had no idea. I was just trying to keep the peace."

He nodded. "Interesting."

"Kankuro, stop asking Shikamaru stupid questions!" Mimi heard Temari say.

"These are questions he should know the answer to," Kankuro said.

"Do I really have to answer that?" Shikamaru said. "Well, if you insist. Her favorite color when she was younger was purple."

"Wait, you actually knew that?" Temari asked. "I don't remember ever telling you that!"

"It's because he's a genius. He's reading your mind, Temari. I'm going to have to make these questions harder," Kankuro said.

"You idiot! That's Ino's ability, not Shikamaru's!"

"I think I should go back over there," Gaara said, rushing out of the kitchen.

Mimi eventually finished the sushi she prepared that Temari taught her how to make. From the way it sounded, the Kazekage seemed to stop the interrogation. Walking to the dining area when she finished everything, all she heard was normal conversation…and one piece of news that no one knew yet, apparently.

"I'm pregnant."

"_What?!_" Was all Mimi heard from all three guys at the same time.

"You defiled my sister!"

"I had no idea—"

_Uh oh._ Mimi thought. "Who wants sushi?" Mimi said, rushing in to try and ease the tension.

XXXXXXXXXX

Far away from Sunagakure, in an isolated cave in the mountains of Earth Country, sat a mysterious creature covered in a long, black hooded cloak. It was small, pale, and wrinkled, looking like a mutated fetus. The creature heard footsteps echoing in the cave.

There was a nobleman, dressed in silk and jade, with long, white hair that traveled down his back. But the elegant look did not last for long, for the disguise faded away, into a man with white hair, tied back into a short ponytail, and round glasses.

He looked down at the creature below him, kneeling.

"It's a shame to see you in this state," the shinobi said to the creature.

"…I have been greatly weakened, but our task is almost complete. With these four scrolls, my ambition for immortality will succeed, and I will finally gain strength. Were you successful in obtaining the last scroll needed?"

"Yes, Lord. It was basically handed to me," the shinobi said, fixing his glasses.

"Take out the scroll," The creature ordered, turning its shriveled, wrinkled head toward the shinobi, opening its slits that were eyes.

The shinobi took out the scroll with the green glow, and it immediately turned light blue.

"Yes, this is it…it senses the presence of the other three. There is no time to waste, we must do this now. Place me and the scrolls in its proper positions, and start to make the rest of the preparations."

"Yes, Lord." The shinobi said.

The shinobi made hand signals, creating markings on the floor. There was a circle designed with sacred geometry inside, with four lines on each quarter right outside the circle. The shinobi placed the creature in the center of the circle placing the other three scrolls in their designated areas. These scrolls also glowed green, but turned different colors when it sensed the presence of the other scrolls.

The scroll placed in the south quadrant of the circle glowed red; the scroll in the east quadrant glowed into different pulsating lights of brown and green; the scroll in the west quadrant glowed a crystallized clear, and finally, the scroll in the north quadrant glowed light blue.

"Perfect…I feel its power already…" The creature said evilly.

The circle and the lines connected to it started to glow into a blinding, white light which filled the whole cave, and then all the shinobi heard was a piercing, soul shattering screech.

**A/N: And that's the end of this chapter. I'm sorry if the romantic moments were too cheesy or OOC. **


	7. The Queen Returns

**A/N: Next chapter! So many thoughts, so challenging to organize them into a cohesive chapter. I was never really good with details…X.X**

As twilight slowly came in Suna, Sari sighed, trying to think of other ways to try and entertain these new visitors. _Suna has been getting really popular lately_, she thought. Her mission for today was to pretend she was a normal civilian, and entertain the visitors for today. Shikamaru, a Konoha shinobi who came here often, assured her that he would be here by the end of the day, and to keep an open ear about what they say, and if something sounds out of the ordinary, report it straight to the Kazekage. But nightfall was coming soon, and she was running out of ideas! She really hoped he would be coming around soon. Then Sari had an idea. Maybe if she pretended to leave them alone for one second, they would probably end up saying something they wouldn't say in front of her. She may look like a normal civilian to them, but that didn't mean normal civilians didn't have a basic understanding of when there might be a threat to their village. She smiled at her own genius, and turned to the visitors, who were thankful that the sun was setting. All they were talking about all day was how much the sun bothered them. From their ghostly pale appearance, she assumed that they must be from far up North.

"Hey guys, you must be thirsty from all the walking around we did today. Would you like me to get you some bottles of water?"

All of them nodded their head, saying how thirsty they were.

_Perfect,_ Sari thought, walking away and hiding behind a corner where they wouldn't be able to see her. If Shikamaru wasn't coming, then she had no choice but to leave things in her own hands.

"It's a nice place, but way too hot. How do people live like this?" One of the visitors started to say.

"Yeah, no wonder it's so isolated. I don't think any normal person would want to live here…"

Yadda. Yadda. Not important…she was almost convinced that these people had nothing to hide…then Sari heard something that didn't make sense the longer she listened.

"The girl showed us everything! There doesn't seem to be any specific place where this scroll would be hidden…" One of the visitors said.

"And there's no clue about the whereabouts of the thief and the hostage, either."

"The elders will be greatly disappointed."

What was that about a scroll? And there was a thief and a hostage somewhere in this village?! This was definitely something the Kazekage should be informed about! Sari tried to see if she could eavesdrop on more information, but they went back to talking about normal things, and then started complaining about where the girl went with the water.

Before she could return, she heard one of them cry out.

"Hey, we can't move!"

She felt someone behind her, and she turned around, to see Shikamaru standing behind her.

"About time!" She whispered. "I was running out of ideas!"

But Sari noticed what he planned. He expected them to slip up if Sari were to entertain them. They would be less likely to suspect she'll hear anything out of the ordinary, and probably less likely to report it, especially if she was dressed normally. If it was left up to him, he probably wouldn't have gotten anything out of them, since he was the one who escorted them. They probably already had some type of background information on him if their intentions were what he suspected. And this plan saved a lot of unnecessary effort on his part. Temari's comments on him were right. He was a lazy ass.

"You did a good job in sneaking information out of them. I'll hold 'em here. Go get the Kazekage."

Sari nodded, getting ready to leave…but then she noticed something. "What on earth happened to your face? What were you doing?" Sari asked, as she noticed he had a big black eye. "Did something happen that we have to tell the Kazekage about?"

Sari noticed he got a pained look on his face as if her question reminded him of the traumatizing events that caused his injury. "Long story," he said. "It's nothing to worry about that's mission related."

"Okaaay…" Sari said, deciding to run off to get the Kazekage. He obviously didn't want to talk about it. She hoped he was right about it not being related to their tasks.

_Earlier that day…_

"Who wants sushi?" Mimi said nervously. The anger in the room was almost tangible.

No one answered her question.

In an instant, Kankuro was in front of Shikamaru, ready to punch him. He was ignoring Temari, who was telling him to stop.

Mimi looked at the Kazekage, who seemed all too comfortable where he was sitting. He obviously wasn't going to try and stop his brother this time.

This time, unfortunately, Kankuro didn't give Shikamaru five seconds to explain anything.

Mimi cringed. God _damn,_ that looked painful!

Mimi quickly put the plate of sushi down, rushing toward Kankuro and Shikamaru. Luckily she was able to stop Shikamaru from getting hit a second time.

Shikamaru had expected more than one hit, and then noticed that the short girl named Mimi was standing in between them. What was up with him getting saved by women? Whatever. One punch was troublesome enough. He already felt his eye start to swell, with a throbbing pain. He didn't know what was funnier though: the fact that she thought she could hold him back, or the fact that it was actually working. Regardless, he was happy he didn't have to waste his time fighting back. That was way too troublesome.

Kankuro was still upset though. He ended up storming out of the apartment soon after, with his brother following him a minute later.

"That escalated quickly…" Mimi said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Back at the present moment…_

"Thank you for your assistance. You are dismissed for today." Gaara told Shikamaru after Sari brought him.

"Are you sure you don't—"

"No. You are dismissed." Gaara said sternly.

Shikamaru took that as a warning that he was still very upset from earlier, and walked away, going to go talk to Temari.

Gaara faced the group of visitors, eyeing them with his usual, serious glare.

"Due to the nature of your conversation earlier, you will have to follow me for questioning, and will be held here until further notice."

"That girl was spying on us…we should have known," one of them said.

"Is he the Kazekage?"

"We're in trouble…"

"I'm still thirsty…"

"I do not wish to make this any more difficult than it is. I expect full cooperation," Gaara said before turning to Sari. "Great work, Sari. Please find Kankuro and tell him to come to my office immediately. He should be near the vicinity of the building."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Mimi sighed, reviewing the payroll of the company. So far, the budget seemed to be fairly balanced, but there could be some improvements. There was always room for improvement. Her focus was interrupted when she heard someone walk near her desk.

"Hey, wanna come with me for lunch?" Mimi heard someone say.

Looking up, she saw it was a familiar outgoing redhead.

"Hey Rubi. Is it lunchtime already? Time is going by so fast today."

"Come to lunch with me. I feel like we haven't spoken in like, ever! You've been so immersed in your work I feel like you've forgotten about me. I'm just a couple of floors downstairs from you. A 'hello' would be nice."

"Aw, I'm sorry, I haven't forgotten about you, Rubi. There has just been…a lot going on." Mimi said, trying to figure out a general way to explain what happened without giving away too much.

"We can talk about it during lunch."

"Fine…" Mimi said.

The two girls decided to sit on a bench outside, being that the day wasn't as hot as it normally was. There was still sushi left over from yesterday, so Mimi brought it with her, offering Rubi some.

"This is good, did you make this?" Rubi said with her mouth full.

"Thanks, Temari taught me how to do it."

"Oh, so that's who you've been hanging out with. It's fine, you can go hang out with Temari and just forget about me." She said playfully.

Mimi laughed. "No, it's not like that. I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been having a crazy week."

"Spill," Rubi said. "It has something to do with that Kankuro guy doesn't it?"

"What? No—well, not completely. Why would you assume it has something to do with him?"

"Because he looks like the type to cause you trouble."

"He's not causing me trouble. No one's causing me trouble."

"Then what happened?"

"Oh, nothing much. I've just been running a lot of errands so I can make my home more comfortable for Temari. She's been staying there lately."

"Why?" Rubi asked, taking another piece of sushi. Mimi had told Rubi that Temari was the one who helped show her around Suna.

"She's been having some family issues. I felt bad so I let her stay since she's been so nice to me." Mimi said. "And I'm making accommodations for her fiancé, too, for now."

"That's crazy, Mimi!" Rubi said.

"I know, I know, but they don't intend to stay for long; just until they get everything figured out. I feel so bad. The poor guy got a black eye yesterday. I hope he's doing okay. He left shortly after because he said he had business to take care of…probably mission related."

"What?! There was a fight yesterday?!"

Mimi nodded. "Luckily I stopped Kankuro before it escalated…I'm a huge wimp when it comes to fights."

"What does Kankuro have to do with this? Why on earth was he there?" Rubi asked, confused.

"I don't know if I told you. Temari and Kankuro are brother and sister."

"Aaah, I see." Rubi said, finally understanding. "Wow, it sucks that you had to get caught in the middle of that. Lucky he has a soft spot for you. He probably would have killed Temari's fiancé."

"Who? Kankuro?" Mimi asked. "That guy does _not_ have a soft spot for me. He always makes fun of my height and threatened to snap me in two yesterday! I don't know how you came up with that."

"Uh, maybe because I caught him checking you out last week before we went to the bar?" Rubi said, smirking.

"No he wasn't. You're just making a mountain out of a molehill."

"Fine, don't believe me."

"I don't. You always try to be matchmaker for all of our co-workers." Mimi said bluntly, not up for Rubi's antics.

"No I don't! I just really think there's some potential there!"

"Just like you thought there was potential between Sutera and that creepy janitor from the second floor?" Mimi said, not wanting to indulge in this. "I think our lunch break is almost done. I should be getting back to work. I'll see you when my shift is over. I haven't asked you how your week went."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Here, this should help bring the swelling down," Temari said to Shikamaru, giving him a small ice pack. "I'm so sorry for the way all this turned out. This is the exact reason why I didn't want my brothers to know. Maybe I should have told them I was pregnant when you weren't around."

"They had to find out eventually." Shikamaru said, sighing. "The things I do for you, woman. I actually expected worse. I'm surprised I'm still alive."

Temari sighed, sitting down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder affectionately.

"Shika…"

"Hn?"

"…I never got to ask you…about how you feel about me being pregnant."

"You really want to know how I feel?" Shikamaru said.

"Yes." Temari said. What kind of a question was that? That could only mean that he wasn't ready…

"You were in on the plan." He said.

Temari looked up at him, confused. "What plan?"

"All you troublesome woman planned to get pregnant around the same time."

Temari just stared at him, trying to process what he just said.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Shikamaru said as he felt a hard smack on the back of his head.

"What kind of an answer is that?" Temari said angrily.

"Well, what did you expect me to say? Don't you think that's a huge coincidence?"

Temari groaned in frustration. "You can be such an insensitive ass."

"What did I do?" Shikamaru said. He can never understand this woman.

"I ask you how you feel about me being pregnant and all you can say is that I was in on some stupid plan?"

Oh, Shikamaru was getting it now. This was turning into one of those conversations where the woman was making the guy talk about feelings…how troublesome.

"Well, what do you expect me to say?"

"Um, I don't know Shikamaru, how about letting me know if you want it? If you're ready? If you're upset?" She said sarcastically. "How can someone with such a high IQ be so dense?"

"Because I thought it was obvious."

"Go on."

He smiled. "Of course I want it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_A couple of hours later…_

"I've tried everything, Lord Kazekage. They're refusing to speak. If you want me to get any information out of them, we would have to end up taking more drastic measures," a sand shinobi specializing in interrogation told Gaara.

"That's not necessary. Hold them for now. I will have to inform the leader of their village. You are dismissed."

The sand shinobi nodded, and walked out of the office.

Gaara angrily turned to Kankuro, who was in the office with him.

"They are looking for the scroll, but that is expected." Gaara said. "Why is it that Sari heard them say something about a hostage?"

Kankuro stood quiet.

"Did you take Himitsu as a hostage, Kankuro?" Gaara asked. "That is not what you told me when you initially returned. You simply said you encountered her on the roof and that she agreed to help you."

"How would she be a hostage if they kicked her out?" Kankuro said irritably.

"That's not answering my question, and from the way it sounds that is not how they see it." Gaara answered sternly.

"Fine, I did take her as a hostage…at first."

Gaara gave him a glare Kankuro thought he would never see again.

"Why on _earth_ would you do that? Do you know the type of trouble we could get in with this other village for something like that? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you would want to send her back. She didn't even want to be there anyway."

Gaara couldn't believe he was hearing this nonsense from his older brother. "That doesn't excuse your behavior. You're not leaving on any type of mission until this whole thing gets figured out. I would have never expected this from you. What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he grumbled.

"Ever since she's gotten here you've been acting differently. Do you have feelings for this woman?"

"No."

"You're lying." Gaara said. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

"I'm not lying!" Kankuro said angrily. "And even if I did, I don't see why you care."

"It _does_ concern me when the whole village is at risk of infiltration because you decided to take this woman as a hostage! I'm done with this absurdity, Kankuro. Contact with her is forbidden. I don't want you speaking to her anymore. All it has done is cause trouble, and she's getting sent back where she came from once I speak to their village leader."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"I _can_, and I will." Gaara stated coldly.

Kankuro was furious. He didn't know why, but he didn't want Mimi to leave. It would be unnecessary. All these years he tolerated all of Gaara's shit, even when he was acting like a psycho. But Gaara couldn't even let him have his way with this one thing.

"I'm not going to let you do that," Kankuro said. "I'm going to speak to her anyway."

"Now is not the time for your stubbornness. You are forbidden."

"Whether I talk to her or not isn't going to make a difference!" Kankuro argued. "And you should be the last one talking about doing forbidden things!"

"What do you mean?" Gaara said, eyeing him angrily.

"Oh, did you forget?" Kankuro said mockingly. "Let me remind you that _I'm_ not the one trying to make out with my own student! But you don't see me judging you."

Gaara's eyes widened, not expecting that accusation.

"I was not trying to make out with Matsuri." Gaara denied. "Do not attempt to turn this around on me."

"Okay, fine, how about I tell the elders about how _precious_ she is to you—"

"Get out of my office." Gaara said crossly, he face getting as red as his hair. He didn't know Kankuro heard him say that.

"If Mimi leaves, I'm telling the elders about your intentions with Matsuri."

"_Get_. _OUT!_"

"…Fine."

Kankuro stormed out angrily, slamming the door loudly before leaving the building.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro walked through the sand village angrily, not really sure where he was going. He can't believe his brother had the nerve to yell at him like that. Being angry, he ended up bumping into someone that he didn't see walking in front of him.

"Watch where you're going!" He said heatedly until he saw the person he knocked down on the floor. Recognizing the round hazel eyes behind the cloth over the person's head, he felt his heart skip a beat. "…I'm sorry Mimi," he told her before helping her get up.

"I take it you're still upset," Mimi said, assuming he was still upset about the incident with Shikamaru. "I think I have something that'll make you feel better."

"Really?" Kankuro asked, curious what it could be.

He saw Mimi fumble through a small purse she was holding, and took out a small box of cigarettes.

"Here, try one."

Kankuro couldn't help but smirk at her boldness, but didn't know whether to laugh or be upset, or disappointed.

"Gimme the whole box," he said, taking the box from her hands, before tossing it in a garbage bin some distance away.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?"

"I thought you stopped smoking those things. They're bad for you."

"So what? They help when I'm upset. Luckily, I haven't been upset, so I haven't touched them. But if you don't like cigarettes, maybe a drink will help."

Kankuro stared at her. "You have terrible ways of coping. Is this the type of advice you give people? No wonder you wanted to jump off a roof."

"Sorry, I'd rather not yell at people and punch them in the face when I'm upset," Mimi joked, referring to his recent actions.

"You should try it one day. It's refreshing." He said, smiling.

"Well at least you won't have to do it again this time. I made you smile."

She was right, she did. He forgot what he was upset about for a moment.

"You should smile more. You look handsome when you smile. When you're upset…I don't' like seeing you upset. It's quite scary. Well, I don't like seeing anyone upset."

"Because you're a wimp who hides behind a cloth."

"Can't you just take a compliment? Sheesh, you're always getting at me about the cloth I wear over my head!"

"It gets annoying talking to a pair of eyes all the time."

"I'll take it off if you let me take off your hat."

"Fine," he said, leaning down to take her cloth off. "Much better."

Mimi looked at him, wondering how he looks without his hat. She never noticed how handsome he was. She had never gotten a good look at him until now.

"Hey Mimi! I was looking all over for you! Didn't you say we were gonna—oh I'm sorry." Rubi said.

Mimi turned away from Kankuro to see who was talking to her, and completely forgot that she was supposed to be waiting for Rubi after work.

"Oh, hey Rubi." Mimi just realized how her and Kankuro were standing that could look a certain way in another perspective. "No! It's not the way it looks."

Rubi smirked. "Right. Anyways, Ryu is finally back from a mission he was sent on. Wanna come with me to see him?"

"Sure," Mimi said. "Hey Kankuro—"

"Don't even bother asking me. I'm taking this as my cue to leave," he said, walking away.

Mimi laughed as he walked away. "I do hope he's okay. He was still upset."

"He'll get over it." Rubi said. "What were the two of you doing anyway? It looked like you were gonna kiss."

"No, we weren't going to kiss." Mimi said.

But a part of her wasn't so sure about that. What would have happened if Rubi didn't find her?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Some time passed, and Shimo-sama and a couple of other snow shinobi finally entered the gates of Suna, with the Kazekage waiting for them. Gaara had sent a letter to the leader of the village some time ago concerning the motives of the snow shinobi that were disguised as tourists that came recently.

The weather in Suna had been unnaturally cool lately during the day, with clouds forming more frequently over the normally clear blue sky. Gaara had an eerie feeling that difficult times were coming, and he had to be more alert than he usually was.

As the elder and the shinobi accompanying her entered the village, he gestured them to follow him, and they ended up in a room with a long table, lined with many chairs.

"I want to apologize for the inconvenience, Lord Kazekage." Shimo-sama started to say as they all sat down. "I assure you we had no ill intentions in entering the village. I felt it would have been best to attempt to retrieve the scroll and the hostage back in secret, due to the dangerous nature of this. But it seems as if the scroll is no longer here."

"I handed the scroll to a nobleman who desired to have it after it was given to me." Gaara said. "We no longer have this scroll that you speak of. What danger do you speak of?"

Shimo-sama sighed. "I was afraid of it to come to this. I understand that your shinobi were simply hired to do what was asked of them, but that scroll needs to be retrieved back immediately and put in a safe place. If the scroll goes in the wrong hands, which it most likely has already, the weather of the world can become chaotic, and wipe out most animal and human life."

Gaara's eyes widened. "I already sense it is starting," he said, referring to the gradually cooling weather. "if you don't mind me asking, what is in that scroll?"

"…Our Queen." Shimo-sama said, looking down.

"Your Queen?" Gaara asked. "You had a queen?"

Shimo-sama nodded. "Not many know of this story, but she once was a very benevolent queen, ruling over our island in peace and harmony. But something changed. It is rumored that she had become involved in dark magic. She craved power to protect her people, but nothing good comes out of tampering with dark magic…I had tried to warn her, but it was already too late. She had become corrupted, using the power she obtained to try and take over other islands and the main land, with ambitions to expand an empire further south. We couldn't let this happen. We used our best shinobi to lock her away forever. But she vowed that she will return, and once she returned, she will cause the world to live in eternal winter under her rule. This was long ago, when I was young. Not many of our villagers know this today. No one had talked about, and the ones who witnessed it have already passed away."

"This is very serious." Gaara said. "I will do my best to assist you to obtain the scroll back if this is the case."

"I appreciate your offer, but that is not the whole story."

"Go on."

"The Queen's power was too much for one scroll to handle. We ended up splitting her soul into four different scrolls. We separated the scrolls, keeping one for us to hide. We gave the scrolls to other faraway lands, in hopes that the scrolls shall never come together again. We had told these lands that the scrolls would bring good luck and harmony, and immortality for their nation if they will never be opened and put away in a heavily guarded, hidden area. If you already sense the change of weather, then that means that the four scrolls have been united once again. If this is the case, it is not one scroll we must obtain, but four."

"I see." Gaara said. "It seems like a greedy individual obtained all four of the scrolls, not knowing its true nature. I can attempt to find where the nobleman requesting the scroll is located. It could help us in trying to get to the other three."

"We can try, but I feel it would be futile. If the person managed to get the scrolls together, then they are probably no longer alive."

Gaara nodded. "As of now, we have no choice. There are no other options."

Shimo-sama nodded. "We would also like to get our villagers back."

Gaara nodded. "Of course, the villagers here have already been released and are waiting for you."

"And the hostage, as well." Shimo-sama added.

Gaara contemplated for a minute. "To be honest with you, Shimo-sama, she seems quite happy here and has no intentions of returning. I was informed that she was kicked out, initially."

"Yes, that was my mistake." Shimo-sama said. "She is not in her right state of mind and she needs to be dealt with by us."

"If you insist, I can bring her to you so the both of you can discuss that tomorrow."

Before anything more could be discussed, there was a knock on the door, and it was opened slowly.

"Matsuri, we are in the middle of an important meeting," Gaara said as he saw her come in slowly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Matsuri said. "But there is an emergency. There is a man who came to the gates asking for our help. We got some medical nin to see what was wrong with him, because he was stabbed by some type of icicle. He says if we don't help him, we'll all be in grave danger."

"Describe this man." Gaara said.

"Long, white hair, and silk robes." Matsuri said. "He looks like he has an affluent background."

Gaara stood up. "It seems we didn't have to search for the man we intended to look for." He said to Shimo-sama. "Make sure he gets proper treatment. We have some questions to ask him."

By the time they got to the man, he was already unconscious, and didn't look like the way Matsuri described him.

"He was using a jutsu," one of the medical nin said. "It went away once he fell unconscious."

Gaara looked down. Instead of a nobleman, he saw a familiar man with white hair and glasses. "Kabuto…I should have known."

"He came with nothing but these, Lord Kazekage," One of the medical nin said, giving him a bag.

Inside, was the four scrolls.

"I'm going to have to request backup. This could turn out badly." Gaara said, after seeing what was in the bag.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Flashback_

The cave turned back to its normal state, the blinding light fading gradually. But there was something different. In front of Kabuto wasn't the weakened Orochimaru, but a woman with light blue skin, and a long, white royal dress with furs and a large, golden crown.

"Who are you? What have you done with Lord Orochimaru?"

"That imbecile has taken my place, suffering the same torture I have suffered for what seemed like eternities. I am finally free! Now that the seal is broken, I can come and go within the scrolls as I please. As for your friend…I have him locked there."

"You were supposed to grant him immortality!"

The Queen laughed. "Is that what was told to you fools? You are both gullible! He deserved his fate if that what you sought me for."

"Bring him back!" Kabuto said, getting in a fighting stance.

The Queen scoffed, tossing all of his weapons in all directions with a wave of her hand. "You're no threat to me. But let's make a deal…I will grant you some of my power, and give you Lord Orochimaru back if you work for me and grant me my wishes. When this world is mine, I will promise you a most rewarding postion."

Kabuto glared at her, contemplating her offer. "How do I know to trust you?"

She smiled evilly. "Because you don't have a choice," she said, creating a huge dagger of ice, tossing it in his direction with a wave of her hand. It was too fast for Kabuto to dodge, and he hunched over in pain as it pierced his abdomen.

"Take me to the kingdom where you have received me," she ordered, exiting the cave, bringing clouds into the skies. Snow started sprinkling to the ground. "That shall be the place I will reside. I will remove the dagger of ice once you take me there. And if you fail to obey my orders, you will die a slow, torturous death as that dagger freezes you to death from the inside out, for it will not melt until you take your last breath," she said, laughing evilly before disappearing as a cool, icy air crystals that planted itself onto one of the scrolls.

Kabuto grunted as he tried to travel the best he can with the dagger through him. He had to go back to Suna; they would be able to help him get this ice dagger out. But they wouldn't trust him. He had to use his disguise as the nobleman. That was the only way.

He left the cave, struggling to maneuver the best he can with the dagger pierced through him, as he felt the temperatures drop in the land of earth as it continued to snow.

**A/N: What will happen next? O.O stay tuned!**


	8. Interrogation

**A/N: Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. I wanted to finish it sooner…but shit happens, lol. I was a bit confused as to how I should start this one, but here it is. xP P.S. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. **

Mimi knocked on the door nervously, awaiting the person on the other side of the door to open it. Lord Kazekage had sent Matsuri to inform her that Shimo-sama was here, and she had requested to speak to her.

Mimi felt her heart flutter irregularly as she heard the click of the door opening. It was a snow shinobi that opened the door. Inside was a normal room with a long table and chairs. Matsuri told her that the Kazekage allowed Shimo-sama to use the room to discuss what she needed to discuss with her.

Mimi walked in awkwardly, not knowing whether to just stand there or sit down in one of the chairs. She didn't expect to ever see Shimo-sama, or anything dealing with her past again. And at this point, she was almost ready to put it behind her…but here it was again, in her face. What did they want?

"Sit down, Himitsu." Shimo-sama said.

Mimi sat down, suddenly interested in her fingernails. She didn't have much courage to look her in the face.

"I need to ask you a couple of questions. I would like it if you were to look at me." Shimo-sama said.

Mimi meekly looked up at Shimo-sama and at the other shinobi that were sitting at the table with her.

"There is no reason to be scared." One of the shinobi said. "We just want to clarify some things."

Mimi didn't feel scared. Why did they think she was scared? It was embarrassment and shame more than anything. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with the biggest mistake she probably made in her life so soon, even though she had no regrets about it, to be honest. She wasn't in Suna for that long…and then it made her think what on earth they were doing here. Did they discuss everything with the Kazekage about the bank being robbed? Was a war going to start between them? Mimi didn't know, and she probably won't find out. It wasn't her place to ask.

"We want to inform you that you don't have to be nervous about coming back to the village," Shimo-sama said. "I understand that I told you that you weren't allowed to return, but it was a mistake on my part. I should have considered the circumstances you were put in."

Mimi was confused. "What circumstances?"

"You were taken as a hostage, Himitsu. The person who robbed the bank was reported to have threatened your life if the snow shinobi on the roof were not to drop his weapons. Is that not true?"

"Yes, that's true…" Mimi said.

"So did you associate yourself with the three wanted shinobi because you were forced to?"

"No…" Mimi said. "I did it willingly. Since you didn't allow me to go back into the village, I made a deal with them…but instead of going through with the deal, I was offered to come with them instead."

"Did you feel threatened in any way?"

"No, not at all. They treated me well."

Shimo-sama stood quiet for a moment.

"You do know you have to come back with us, Himitsu."

"Why? I don't want to leave. I actually have friends here. I'm happier here." Mimi said almost instinctively.

"It sounds like she has Stockholm Syndrome," one of the shinobi said.

"We would have to take you with us for your treatment." Shimo-sama said.

"I don't have Stockholm Syndrome!" Mimi said defiantly, in utter disbelief at that statement. "He took me hostage for like five minutes and then made a deal with me. I left with him willingly!"

"Do you still have thoughts of suicide?" a snow shinobi then asked.

"No!" Mimi said getting fed up with the interrogation. "I appreciate the offer, I really do. It hurt when I was told that I couldn't come back…but I've moved on from that. I don't mind the thought of returning to our village, but I know I'll be more content here for the time being. I'm sorry; I'm not interested in leaving with you, at least not right now."

"Are you still associating yourself with the shinobi who took you hostage?" Shimo-sama asked.

"…Yes."

"Himitsu, we will not force you to leave, but we advise against associating yourself with him. It sounds like he has manipulated you into staying here."

"That's nonsense." Mimi said irritably at how stupid this all sounded. "He hasn't manipulated me into doing anything."

"Watch your tone while speaking to the elder," one of the snow shinobi said.

"This is not your home, Himitsu." Shimo-sama said. "The Kazekage is allowing you to stay here, but he also agrees that you are forbidden to speak to the individual that took you hostage. He has spoken to us about the situation, and says that taking you was not the intention of the mission, and he is cooperating with us to fix this issue. He also informed us that the individual at hand has already received penalties for his actions."

"What does me not talking to him have to do with anything?" Mimi said.

"We doubt that you would have any desire to stay here if you eliminate contact with him."

"That's not true." Mimi said. These people really believed she had Stockholm Syndrome. She couldn't believe this.

"You have to cooperate with us if you wish to stay here." Shimo-sama stated.

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Fine, I won't talk to him. I'm telling you, it won't make a difference. Are we done here?"

"Speak to the elder with respect." One of the snow shinobi said.

"It's okay, don't get on her too much. She is not in her right state of mind."

Mimi groaned. She wasn't about to hear any more of this. They were making her out to be crazy. "I'm out of here." She said angrily, walking out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_A couple of days later…_

"I'm sorry to have you come here on such short notice," Gaara said to the three shinobi standing in his office. "But I'm afraid to say that we might have some grave times coming soon, and most likely, we will need the assistance of the leaf village in the near future."

"What's going on?" Kiba asked.

"We have come across four scrolls that could be a threat to the world. We don't know the strength of what resides inside it, but it is said to be very dangerous and powerful. As of now, the scrolls are being watched by ANBU, however we are preparing and making extra precautions. The weather is already starting to cool. We have to keep an eye on these scrolls to prevent further damage. The person who resides inside it is said to cause eternal winter."

"How did you find these scrolls?" Shino asked.

"…Kabuto is the one who brought them here. Most likely he was tempted to find them because they were rumored to bring immortality, but right now he is injured and unconscious. We plan to question him once he stabilizes and wakes up. As of now, we have no idea how he obtained three out of the four scrolls. So far, it seems he's been showing improvement in the last couple of days so we'll be able to find out soon."

"Kabuto…" Naruto said angrily. "Leave it up to him to ruin everything. This is supposed to be a time of peace."

"We are just preparing for the worst. Hopefully we'll be able to deal with the issue before it gets out of hand." Gaara said. "You are dismissed for now."

The three started walking out the office, but Gaara called Naruto to tell him something.

"I forgot to say, I'm sorry for calling you here. I know Hinata is pregnant and needs your support…but if this turns out badly, your skill will be valued greatly."

"Don't worry about it, Gaara. You know I have your back! Hinata's fine. She's staying with her sister right now." Naruto said, giving one of his huge smiles. "Whatever happens, I know we can all handle it."

Gaara nodded. "Thank you, Naruto."

"That Shino guy is still a weirdo." Kankuro commented when Naruto left the office. Due to the current circumstances, the two brothers decided to put their differences aside despite the disagreement that occurred recently.

"I requested to the village elder that Himitsu stay here." Gaara said to Kankuro after an awkward silence, ignoring Kankuro's comment about Shino.

"Hn," Kankuro muttered.

"If they decide to have her stay, you are still not allowed to speak to her," Gaara continued. "You need to understand that her decisions were made when she was in a very vulnerable state."

"Whatever. I don't care." Kankuro said irritably. "They can do whatever they want."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto was in a house that seemed oddly familiar to him. He heard screams in the distance…as he walked closer to where the noise was coming from; he ended up in a room, and saw…himself. But he was just a child. The child was standing there, watching shinobi do unspeakable things to two adults…his…parents?

"Mother, father…" Kabuto whispered to himself in shock as it finally registered to him what was going on.

But he couldn't interfere no matter how hard he tried to fight or scream. It was as if they couldn't see him or hear him. He couldn't touch them; they went right through him. He couldn't even comfort himself as a child, who was now crying in the corner of the room, helpless as he saw blood fly in every direction of the room while hearing the screams and utter horror of the pain and torture that his parents were going through. When the screams stopped, a familiar figure appeared in the room…the Queen.

"That's enough, let's go. We have this village now." She said to the shinobi who had just tortured his parents to death.

"And what of the child?"

"Don't worry, I'll deal with him." The Queen said. "Go gather the other villagers."

"Yes, your majesty." They said, leaving the home.

The Queen walked to the boy, who tried to cower in the corner more than he already was as she got closer to him.

"Don't be scared, child. I won't kill you." She said to him. "I will blur your eyesight so you won't see violence anymore, and erase your memory of this tragic incident. If you ever encounter me again, I'll remind you that I spared your life, and I expect that you will repay me for my favor." she said to the boy, before rendering him unconscious.

Then the home was gone. Everything was gone, and he was just standing in white nothingness. He didn't know what to think. All these years, he wanted to find out who he was, where he came from…and he finally got what he wanted. Now he didn't know if he even wanted to remember in the first place.

"No need to look so shocked. There's nothing you can do about it now."

Kabuto looked up to see this evil queen. He couldn't imagine someone could ever repulse and disgust him so much. He couldn't imagine having this much hatred for one individual. If he could, he would make her suffer the same fate that she made his parents go through.

"Where am I?"

"You're sleeping right now. Sorry I had to communicate to you in this manner, but the scrolls I'm residing in are being guarded, and I don't want to make such a show just yet." The queen said unapologetically.

"You knew who I was when I summoned you!" Kabuto said. "You caused the death of my parents!"

"Is me wiping your memory away not enough? I did you that favor. We were fated to meet again, I assume. Now it's your time to repay me."

"I freed you from your torment. I've already repaid you. And what if you're being deceptive? Those could have been false memories."

"Oh, sweetheart, those weren't false memories. You think those memories were false? Well, I have news for you. How are you able to understand my dialect so easily? I speak to you in a northern dialect that people of the south have trouble understanding. You spoke to me with ease when you summoned me. Now don't fret so much. I'm trying to be nice. You don't have a choice anyway. I did you the favor and granted your memories back."

"Why did you do that to my parents?" Kabuto asked, with a slight tremor in his voice, realizing that she was right. He didn't notice that he didn't have an issue understanding what she was saying even if she spoke so differently. He was even responding to her in the dialect and he didn't even notice…it came so naturally to him. Is that where he came from? Was he from the Land of Snow?

"It was nothing personal, really," the queen said casually. "They just happened to live in the village I was trying to take over. Unfortunately, my conquest didn't go far. I was sealed away in those horrid scrolls soon after."

"So my parents died in vain." Kabuto said. "You're a monster."

"Don't act so grandiose. You were working for a mad scientist. Or did you forget? Your moral ground isn't any better than mine."

"I wouldn't have been working for him if you wouldn't have killed my parents!" He yelled.

The Queen rolled her eyes. "Enough with your nonsense. You can't predict what could have happened, and it's useless to dwell on that. Now listen to me. You're going to wake up soon. If you don't want to suffer the fate of your dear Lord Orochimaru, you'll do everything I say. I'm going to lay low for a while. I need you to address to me the weaknesses of the shinobi in this village. I want to take over this village without a struggle. Tell me their motives. When I feel I have enough information, is when I will be ready to make myself known."

"This village doesn't have many weaknesses. The shinobi here are very powerful."

"Hm. It seems I'll have to prepare for a fight, then. Very well then. I still want you to report to me their motives. I will lie dormant and reserve and build up my power. Then I shall be ready to freeze over the rest of the planet."

"And how will I be able to tell you what's going on if you're being guarded?"

"The same way I'm communicating with you now. Every time you fall asleep, I will be here. You see, that dagger I put inside of you has connected the both of us, even after I melt it away. I can live the world through you while I hide." The Queen said, almost dismissively. "You're waking up now. I expect that you do as I say. I can grant you the worst, realistic nightmares if you fail to obey me. I can see what goes on in your mind…your subconscious. I suggest you don't test me."

And in a snap, Kabuto jolted awake, breathing heavily in a cold sweat. He looked down at his abdomen, the ice dagger gone. There was no sign of it ever being there in the first place. Was it a genjutsu? It couldn't be…everything seemed in place, and he was able to spot if he was in a genjutsu fairly quickly.

Instantly, he looked around for his glasses, not content with looking at a blurry room. Next to his glasses was a cup with a jug of water. He immediately poured some in the cup and drank some.

A couple of minutes later, a medical nin walked in the room to check up on him.

"You're awake," he said. "How do you feel?"

Mentally? Probably anguish and complete discontent with himself and his current situation. He never felt so helpless. He didn't want to be associated with this woman who found a way to occupy his mind. "I'm okay…what happened to the dagger that was inside me?" Was all Kabuto ended up saying.

"It melted away soon after we brought you in here. We assessed you for any internal damage, but there doesn't seem to be any, so we were monitoring you and treating your hypothermia."

"I see…" Kabuto said. So the queen kept her word. But he still couldn't trust her. There was no knowing what else she had up her sleeve. Ever since she's come in contact with him she's surprised him with her capability. He had no doubts that she could have the world freeze over. But he was struggling between whether he should inform the Kazekage or keep it secret. If he told the Kazekage, he would risk a terrible fate, but there were chances of her being defeated. If he worked with her, he would probably see a future of being alive, but miserable, as he would have to be subservient to this queen for the rest of his life. Neither of those choices had very good outcomes. He would have to do what he was best at doing: double crossing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As nightfall started to come, Mimi walked along the dark roads of Suna, taking in the cool night. She noticed the weather was getting cooler during the day. It didn't bother her, but a part of her felt it wasn't really normal for a desert to be that cool during the day. Maybe it was just some type of anomaly. There have been pretty hot days in the Land of Snow, though they are very rare.

She decided to take a walk around since she was a bit bored back at her home. Temari and Shikamaru had moved out recently. Temari's issues with her brothers have calmed down, and they put their anger aside to support Temari, though they still weren't very happy with Shikamaru. Mimi was happy that they were able to work things out, though she had gotten used to them there, and felt a bit lonely now that they left. A part of her knew Temari and Shikamaru also left because they were probably requested to leave. A close connection with Temari meant that she could end up talking to Kankuro, and they weren't supposed to be speaking.

That didn't stop them, though. For the past couple of days, they've been meeting up in different places even though they weren't supposed to. It was an unspoken agreement. Some things just didn't need a reason. She enjoyed his company, and she didn't see the reason to stop speaking to him. Despite his impudence, he made her laugh and he was one of her favorite people to talk to when she looked past him making fun of her. They talked about anything. She felt like she could just be herself. With other people, she felt like she had to hold herself back. But Kankuro was down to earth. She liked that about him. He held a nonjudgmental attitude about a lot of things, and he didn't ostracize things he didn't understand.

They haven't seen each other today, though. And even though she was used to the solitude and preferred it most of the time, she missed his company. He wasn't draining. She wouldn't admit that to herself, though.

"It's getting late."

Mimi turned around to see the puppeteer dressed all in black, like always. She didn't think she would get to see him today, and felt a surge of happiness inside her.

"I know," Mimi said, smiling. "I like walking around at night."

"You shouldn't be walking around at night by yourself."

Mimi shrugged. "I guess you're right. But it's something I always did up north."

"That's dangerous."

"Cut me some slack. There wasn't much to do."

"This isn't the north."

He was right. Things were probably different here. Up north, it wasn't as densely populated. Less people meant fewer issues...well, most of the time. "I guess I got used to having people over," Mimi said. "Now that everyone left it's weird. So I decided to take a walk. And you're doing the same thing anyway."

"Do I really have to waste my time telling you how me walking around at this time of night is different than you doing it?" He said.

"I know, I know." Mimi said. There was no need for her to hear the she's-not-a-high-level-shinobi lecture. "But I'm not alone anymore. What are you doing wandering around here anyway?"

"Looking for you."

"Really?" Mimi said, looking up at him. It wasn't often that she felt…wanted.

"Being around a normal civilian can be a breath of fresh air, sometimes. I don't have many friends who aren't shinobi."

Mimi nodded. She guessed it got tiring dealing with…shinobi issues. It must get annoying dealing with all the violence and fighting and training…it was something Mimi could never do, and she never understood how her parents managed to deal with it. She didn't have the strength or the guts to do that type of stuff. It was really cool to watch from afar, though.

"Well, I feel special now," Mimi joked. "I'm like your escape."

"Don't flatter yourself, midget." He said, smiling down at her.

A cool breeze swept over them briefly, causing Mimi to shiver, who lacked a sweater or a jacket.

"Jeez, it's getting cold," Mimi said, feeling herself get goosebumps. "Is it just me, or has the weather been getting colder? It just seems out of the ordinary, even for the nighttime."

Kankuro stood quiet for a moment. She wouldn't know about what's been going on, would she? He doubted it. There have been other civilians complaining about the weather lately, too. But he couldn't disclose any information. It would cause a widespread panic that would be unnecessary and just cause more chaos than good. From his knowledge, no one would know about the scroll…or scrolls, for that matter.

"I guess so. It'll probably go away soon." Kankuro said dismissively. "I'm starving." He said, changing the subject. He didn't want to keep talking about it and end up giving a clue about something that she might pick up on.

"I can make you something to eat." Mimi suggested. Then she could have company over and not feel so lonely. It was getting cold outside anyway.

"No thanks, I should get going…"

"Aw, why not? You should come over." Mimi insisted.

"No, I'm good."

Mimi could smack him upside the head. He was just like Temari. An even more stubborn version of Temari. Luckily, she had a plan.

Mimi sighed heavily in mock disappointment. "Okay. I guess I'm just going to have to eat the hamburger steak I was planning to make all by myself…"

"…You know how to make that?" He said, eyeing her.

"Yes." She said in mock innocence. She knew she got him.

"…Okay, I'll go." Kankuro said eventually. He couldn't miss a good opportunity to eat his favorite food, especially ifsomeone was going to make it for him.

"Yay!" She said, grabbing his wrist to take him to her place.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That was delicious," Kankuro said. "How did you know it was my favorite food?"

"It is?" Mimi said. "What a coincidence. That just happened to be what I was craving."

"You forget that you're a terrible liar. Stop playing stupid," he said. "I'm not that dumb. You're hanging out with Ryu too much."

"Okay, fine. Temari told me when we were exchanging recipes," Mimi said, laughing at his last comment. "And that's mean. Ryu isn't dumb. He's just…unique."

"Uniquely stupid." Kankuro mumbled.

"I don't think he's stupid, but I think he's funny." Mimi said.

"Why are you defending him? You like him or something?" He asked, looking up at her skeptically.

"Nothing more than a friend. He's a bit too…energetic for me." Mimi said, looking up as she was trying to find a word for Ryu's extremely extroverted personality. He was definitely one of a kind. That was for sure.

"What kind of guys do you like then?" Kankuro asked. He was curious. She probably didn't have very good taste in men based on what she told him about her ex.

Mimi stood quiet for a second before answering. "I...don't know. I never thought of that. I guess if I click with them and they're nice. But they're always nice in the beginning. What about you?" Mimi asked.

"I'm not gay. I'm not interested in dating guys."

"I meant girls. Can you stop being a smartass for one second?" Mimi said annoyed, but obviously amused.

He smirked. "I like exotic women. They're fun to look at and play with."

"You must be quite the charmer," Mimi said dully, raising an eyebrow.

"You have no idea." He said smugly.

"I'm sorry I asked." Mimi said, standing up. She didn't want to hear any more details. She already had unsightly images popping up in her head. "I'm going to make some tea," she said, walking off.

Mimi rolled her eyes as she prepared the tea. She really could not believe someone could be so outwardly arrogant and rude most of the time. She would tell herself that she didn't mind it because she knew there was a kind side to him despite his occasional insolence—he did save her life and offered her a place to go—but she had to admit he was kind of appealing as well. She wouldn't say that to anyone though.

Kankuro snickered as he watched her walk off. He noticed she always wore baggy clothes, and it made it hard to tell what her body looked like under all the clothes since she almost never showed her skin. He wondered how she would look if she would take the baggy clothes off. She didn't look very curvy, but she probably looks fine naked based on the little he did see of her the other day at the bar…it was different than what he was used to, but he liked different. As she came back from the kitchen to serve the tea, he noticed what he was actually thinking about, and put the thoughts away in a part of his mind he doesn't have any interest in remembering. But as she sat down his eyes wandered down to her brown baggy shirt, observing how her breasts barely poked through.

"Here," he heard Mimi say.

"Huh?" He said, looking up at her.

"Your tea."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks, midget."

Mimi sighed, shaking her head. "I'm going to start thinking of a nickname to give you if you keep calling me that."

"Like what?"

"Um…I don't know. Maybe something related to your makeup." Mimi teased.

"Go ahead. It's not the first time I've heard those jokes." Kankuro said. "I can take off my war paint. You can't grow."

Mimi laughed. "I kid. I like your war paint. It looks cool."

"…Really?" Kankuro asked. He didn't hear that often.

"Yes. I was never good at that type of stuff," Mimi said, leaning closer to him, examining his war paint. "You changed it! I never noticed."

"Uh…yeah," he said, feeling awkward at the distance between them as her eyes scanned over his face. He liked her eyes…she was pretty.

Mimi distanced herself when she saw he looked uncomfortable.

"I think I should get going," Kankuro said quickly, leaving her apartment hastily.

Mimi blinked in confusion. What was up with him?

Kankuro rushed home, thinking about the argument that he had with Gaara the other day. He wasn't attracted to Mimi. He didn't like her when they first met. So that wouldn't change all of a sudden. Gaara was just planting thoughts in his head, to try and get her to leave…but it really got him thinking about why he didn't want her to leave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto stabilized fairly quickly, and was discharged from the hospital a couple of days after the medical nin were confident that he was back to full health. Now, he was stuck in an interrogation room, waiting to be questioned. He was sitting at a desk, with two shinobi, a man and a woman, staring at him as if that would make him confess anything. He decided the best thing would be to be as cooperative as possible without giving too much away. If they saw he was cooperating, he might be able to find out what their motives are so he would be able to tell the queen just enough so she won't try and kill him…but he won't tell her everything, of course. He didn't want her to actually be successful in her plan. The thought of living in a world below freezing for the rest of eternity serving an evil queen was terrible, even for him.

Even though the Queen was able to get in his head, she seemed to have some limitations, being that she needed him to spy on them for her. Just her luck, being a spy was his specialty. And it would work out to his advantage if he played his cards right. Adjusting his glasses, he waited for the sand shinobi to talk, preparing himself for what they would ask of him.

"How did you get ahold of these scrolls?" One of the shinobi asked.

"I found out where they were hidden and stole them," Kabuto said.

"How did you find out about them?"

"If you're wondering how I found out about their existence in the first place, there are legends that get passed around through the land. There's always some truth to myths that get passed around. So I went in search for them based off of what the legends said."

"Do you expect us to believe that their locations will get disclosed so easily?" The female shinobi asked.

"Well, I did say I made some friends," Kabuto answered.

"You spied on them." The man said bluntly.

"If that's what you want to call it," he snickered.

"What happened when you obtained all the scrolls?" The woman asked.

Kabuto slightly cringed as he remembered the scream he heard once all the scrolls were activated. "I don't know."

"Something happened." The male said, noticing the look on his face.

There was stillness for a moment, and then the female shinobi broke the silence.

"We want to get this over with as quickly as you do," she said. "If you tell us what happened, we won't hold it against you. Our goal here is not to cause you any inconvenience. We want to ensure the safety of everyone. "

Kabuto thought about it for a minute, and figured that there would be no harm if he gave them the information they needed. It could give clues as how to eradicate the Queen. Kabuto then told them about what happened when he put the scrolls together, but he left out the parts about what happened to Orochimaru. He could deal with that part on his own, and they didn't need to know that he was still alive, especially in his weakened state. He wasn't even sure about his status or whereabouts at the moment. If what the Queen told him was true, the sand shinobi wouldn't be able to help him, even if they wanted to, which they probably wouldn't due to his infamy. And he didn't tell them about the communication he had with the queen, obviously, but he told them they had to figure something out quick. He knew she would be getting stronger as time went on, and they had no time to waste. The Land of Earth was already frozen over. It wouldn't be long for the Land of Wind to suffer the same fate.

Both of the investigators nodded as he told them how he got here with the scrolls, and how he ended up with a dagger of ice through his abdomen.

"We thank you for your cooperation," The female shinobi said, "but we have one more question. When did you find out about these scrolls, and how to activate them?"

"Fairly recently," Kabuto said. "It didn't take very long for me to obtain all four scrolls."

"Okay," she said. "We're done here."

After the interrogation was over, they took Kabuto and locked him away in a prison. They had informed him that he would have to stay here until further notice. This didn't surprise him. He went to lie down on the bed, getting lost in his own thoughts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The two shinobi reported the interrogation to Gaara, who looked sullen. It wasn't very often that there was a situation at hand that he didn't know what to do. His first thought was to destroy the scrolls, but he wasn't sure what would happen if the scrolls were to get destroyed. It could either exacerbate the situation or completely eradicate it. At this point, this would be an unnecessary risk. But the thought of waiting for something to happen seemed worse.

"I also have an important piece of information regarding Kabuto," the female interrogator added. "Kabuto stated that he learned of all this fairly recently. He looked like he was being truthful about that. From the way he described how he summoned all the scrolls after putting them together, it seems to be that someone would have to know a very advanced summoning jutsu to be able to do this."

"What is your point?" Gaara asked.

"To have learned a jutsu like that, he would have needed assistance. There was no way he could have elaborated all of this by himself."

"That would mean that the person helping him would have to know a vast knowledge of jutsus." The male shinobi added.

"Exactly." The female shinobi said. "And there is one person he's known to be associated with who has a vast knowledge of ninjutsu."

"Are you implying that Orochimaru had something to do with this?" Gaara asked. "He's been dead for some time now."

"From our knowledge, he's been dead," the male shinobi said. "We're not specifying that he's still alive for a fact, but it's something that we have to consider."

"If this is the case, then we have to question him about who else might have been included in obtaining the scrolls. If there is someone else involved, there has been no clue of their presence, so this could turn out dangerously. It means he has something else planned. We cannot let this happen." Gaara said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto was in a familiar void, where everything was white. He seemed to be floating in nothingness…and then he saw someone not far up ahead in the distance, and the person was getting closer. The figure was familiar to him…it was the queen. But there was something different about her. As she eventually stood about a foot away from him, he noticed her blue tint was gone, and she lacked the evil, sadistic glare that was always constant in her eyes. Her eyes were a bold violet, instead of the cold, icy dark blue that the evil queen usually had.

"Kabuto…" the Queen said. "We don't have much time…please listen to me…"

This wasn't the queen he was used to communicating with. What happened to her?

"I want to apologize for the suffering my mistakes have caused you. I am Queen Hokkyo, and I want to help you."

"You're acting different," Kabuto said to her.

"That's because that queen is not me. She is my evil counterpart. She does not belong in your world. You are my only hope to fix this."

"Huh?" Kabuto said, confused.

"Let me explain," The queen said calmly. "A long time ago, I ruled a small, prosperous village up north. I met the love of my life…we were supposed to get married. I wanted to make him king, and we were to look over our village in happiness and harmony."

The Queen then looked down in sadness.

"He owned a ship…he was a sailor who traded often with other lands. He was to go on one last trip before he was to settle down in my land, but he never returned. Over time, I heard his ship had gotten lost at sea, never to return. But we had promised that we would find each other, no matter what. I made a mistake. I was tempted by dark magic. I was promised it would bring him back to me. I wanted to at least speak to him one last time. I lacked the closure that I longed for with him.

"But I was deceived. Instead of bringing him back to me, I opened a portal to the underworld using a mirror. It caused me to switch with what I thought was my reflection. I got caught in this dark world…my counterpart roaming free in your world. You must bring her back where she belongs. She will cause mass destruction."

"How will I be able to do that?" Kabuto asked. "There's no way I can achieve that on my own."

"There is hope," The queen said. "I am stuck in the underworld, but I see what the queen has done. I was thankful she was locked away, and that is the only reason why I have not lost hope…I see the good in you. I see your strength. I know you can do this. I have information that can help you. Your assistance will be forever appreciated. You will be seen as a hero in my village."

"What is it?" Kabuto asked.

"I…was able to get in contact with my sailor soon after I got locked away in this world briefly a long time ago. He told me his ship is cursed…but two sand shinobi were destined to find his lost ship and bring him back home after all these years. It was a vision he told me he kept on having after wandering aimlessly at sea for so long. I have a feeling that their return should be very soon…for he told me if I am able to reach out into the world of light again, then they have found him. If they were to break the curse, he'll be able to give them a satchel of rare seeds he had obtained during his journeys that will reopen the portal temporarily and bring me back where I belong. Me and my counterpart cannot exist on the same plane. If I return, she will disappear, going back where she originally came from. It is the only way we can achieve this. Are you brave enough to look for me in the underworld and bring me through the portal?"

Kabuto thought about it for a moment. If he were to do this…he would have a purpose. And he would be a hero. But if he failed…he would get locked away in the underworld too.

"I understand your concern," the queen told him apologetically. "I'm sorry to put this on you, but you are my last option. Please consider the consequences."

Kabuto didn't have a choice. If he was going to risk dying, at least he would have died attempting to do something for a good purpose. He nodded. "I'll do it."

The queen smiled. "Thank you, Kabuto…I am trapped at a large mountain in the horizon that you won't miss once you get in the underworld. Release me from there, and we shall be able to return. Be careful, there will be many dangerous monsters on your journey. I must go now…I sense her presence…"

And in a moment, the queen faded away.

**A/N: Sorry it took me longer than expected to put this chapter up. Attempting to study for my boards and the holidays and fighting depressive episodes and therapy…things have been a tad bit chaotic, but here it is, lol. I feel like this story unfolded in a way I didn't expect and now I opened up Pandora's box! Oh well, the best I'm going to have to do is rock with it and see where it goes. I already have ideas for the next chapter, including Shikamaru and Temari stuff, so that's good news. Until next time ;D**


	9. Frozen

**A/N: =] Well, here it is…Oh! I also want to thank you guys for following and favoriting my story! You're all awesome ;D I know my writing isn't perfect so I'm glad you're all giving me a chance. This chapter is a bit longer than the usual ones, so I hope you enjoy it.**

There was a faint wind brushing over his face as he felt soft, cold droplets dissolving as they touched his skin. Then everything started coming back into focus…but where was he? Rubbing his eyes, he sat up from the ground he was on, shaking his head into focus. He noticed he was lying in sand…but as he looked up, the sky was cloudy and grey; with…_snow falling on the ground?_

"Kanjo, wake up! Check this out! I can't believe this…" Rojikku said to Kanjo, shaking him awake.

"Hm? Wha…what happened?" Kanjo said, struggling to wake up. "Where are we?"

"We're near Suna…" Rojikku said, looking ahead to see the hidden village in the distance.

"Whoa, that's creepy, dude. How the hell did we get here?" Kanjo said nervously, looking at him. "And why is it snowing?"

Rojikku looked back at him as they both tried to remember their ordeal. It was all fuzzy.

"Was it a genjutsu?" Rojikku asked rhetorically.

"Probably…" Kanjo said, standing up. "We're gonna have to tell the Kazekage why we took so long on our mission. The whole ordeal after the mission was definitely out of the ordinary."

"You're telling me…" Rojikku said. "But that still doesn't explain why it's snowing in the desert."

"Maybe we're still stuck in the genjutsu."

"I don't know," Rojikku said. "For some reason this all seems way too real. We would have broken through the genjutsu already."

"…Let's just go," Kanjo said, starting to walk toward the sand village in the distance. "We'll figure it out soon enough."

"Hey, you dropped something," Rojikku said, picking up what fell out of his pocket as he stood up.

"What's this?" Kanjo said, looking in the small sack that he dropped.

Inside were…seeds. And then that's when it all came back to them.

"No way…" Kanjo said. "It really did happen…we have to bring these to the Kazekage!"

"That's why it's snowing." Rojikku said seriously. "The Captain was right. We need to hurry. The snow looks like it just started; I don't see any snow sticking on the ground. If we hurry now, we might be able to make it before things get worse."

Kanjo put the seed satchel back in his pocket, rushing towards Suna, with Rojikku following closely behind.

_Flashback…_

"That mission wasn't so bad," Kanjo said, walking on the ship casually, proud that the mission was a success.

"I didn't expect to bump into other shinobi though. That's probably why the Kazekage assigned us. He probably saw it as a possibility."

"The most important part is that the politician we were escorting arrived in one piece." Kanjo affirmed.

"In retrospect, it doesn't surprise me that he had assassins after him. He came off as a bit shady."

"Well his meeting in that city seemed to turn out well, so at least they didn't bite his head off."

"That would have been a mission failed…completely."

"Hmph, we never fail missions." Kanjo said confidently as the boat started to set sail.

After a couple of hours, Rojikku was bent over the edge of the boat, which was expected.

"Ugh, I hope this boat ride ends soon," He said when he got the chance to stand back up.

"I doubt it, buddy." Kanjo said.

As the boat kept sailing, the winds kept getting stronger, and colder. Eventually it started to rain heavily, the waves crashing around the boat stronger and stronger.

"This weather's insane! It came out of nowhere!" One of the sailors of the ship said as the ship bobbed up and down roughly as the weather got increasingly worse.

After a giant wave crashed against the ship, the sailors heard a loud crack.

"Everybody, on the lifeboats! It's going to sink!" Another sailor called.

Luckily, there weren't many sailors on the ship, and there were enough lifeboats for everyone as they saw the ship get smothered by the waves, eventually disappearing in sight as it slowly descended down to the unknown depths of the ocean. Kanjo and Rojikku had a lifeboat to themselves, and they struggled against the tumultuous waves to try and keep track of the other sailors. Unfortunately, all they saw was a large sea in all directions, with no one else in sight.

"We've got to find a way to land!" Kanjo yelled as he saw the largest wave come toward their way.

The skies blackened, the rain increasing heavily, the winds becoming so strong they had to yell loudly to be able to hear each other even though they were right next to each other.

"I think we're stuck in a hurricaine!" Rojikku yelled to Kanjo.

"Oh no!" Kanjo yelled as the large wave overpowered them and the lifeboat they were on.

The last thing they remembered was struggling to swim to the surface as the waves pushed them in all directions, and eventually exhaustion gave in, and they passed out.

Rojikku and Kanjo woke up on a solid, wooden floor that was moving up and down.

"Where are we?" Rojikku asked as they both sat up.

"We're on a ship…" Kanjo said, looking around.

"But…how?"

"You're finally up," A raspy voice said.

Both of the sand shinobi turned around to see a man with a long, messy black beard, a long, worn brown jacket, and black rubber boots.

"Who are you?" Kanjo said, standing up abruptly, looking around him. Everything surrounding the ship he was on wasn't what he expected. Instead of endless blue, there was a white smoky haze that was ubiquitous everywhere, feeling a sense of timelessness, but he still felt the boat saling, as if it had a specific location.

"I'm the captain of this ship." The man said matter-of-factly.

"How did we end up here?" Rojikku asked.

"You came in through the haze, just like the rest of us," The captain said, as other sailors started crowding around them as they realized there were new people that were added to their crew.

"What?" Rojikku said, confused. "How do we get out of here?"

"No idea," The captain said apologetically. "We got lost at sea, and ended up in this haze. We've lost track of how much time has passed. There was an urban legend that ships got lost a lot around this area of the sea, but we didn't believe it. I regret not heeding the warning that the civilians gave us…someone is waiting for me back home. She was in trouble the last time I had contact with her. I reckon a long time has passed since then. I hope she's okay."

"What…how are you guys even still alive?" Rojikku asked, not liking where this story was going.

One of the sailors shrugged. "Ever since we've been here we haven't had the need for food or anything. It's like we're stuck in time or something."

"You've got to be kidding me…" Rojikku said. "I can't believe this! Were we the only ones who ended up here?"

"From what we've seen," the captain said. "Welcome to the crew, you'll get used to it."

"Wait a god damn second," Kanjo said angrily. "You're telling me you have no idea how to get out of this? I'll be damned if I just stay like this for the rest of my life! This is unbelievable!"

"It's the stage of denial," one of the sailors whispered to the other sailors.

"I'm assuming this has happened before," Rojikku said, overhearing the sailor.

"Yeah, many times," the captain said. "We're all here for each other. It's how we've been able to tolerate this for so long. We've had guys come and go."

"Go where?" Rojikku asked. "I thought we were trapped in this."

"The ones who get tired of this…they jump off the ship…sometimes to end the misery…sometimes to try and figure out a way out past the mist. None of them have ever returned. The last thing we hear from them are screams…I don't suggest jumping overboard. That's what it wants."

"This is like a horror novel," Kanjo said worriedly.

"Wait, captain, didn't you say that you kept having visions of two guys every time you stared into the mist for too long? Maybe they're the ones who'll get us out of here!" One of the sailors said.

"I doubt that," the captain said. "We've had guys come in in groups of two before. It never ended well. I just say that in hopes that it means something, but there's no progress. It's all an illusion. We're cursed forever."

"Don't talk like that," Kanjo said defiantly. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not just gonna sit here and do nothing. I'm gonna find a way to get out of this shit. Fuck this curse!"

Rojikku didn't like the look that the sailors had on their faces. It was a look of…pity. Rojikku didn't want to say anything to Kanjo. He didn't want to ruin his spirits. But it didn't seem like there was any way to get out of this boat. Rojikku figured that it was best to accept this fate now. But he figured if he was going to be on this boat for eternity, it wouldn't hurt in observing and figuring out ways to get out of here, even if it may seem futile.

But as time….or timelessness dragged on, it didn't seem like there were any clues of getting off this ship. Kanjo and Rojikku ended up being one of the members of the crew, doing things to pass the time, like telling stories of the life before this mist, playing stupid word games…and attempting to sleep, even though there was no need, apparently.

As hopelessness started to torture the two shinobis' thoughts, they started hearing a voice in their head, telling them to jump overboard.

_Jump…you'll find peace…you'll finally get out of here…_it would say. It would keep on repeating and repeating and the voice would eventually go away if they ignored it long enough. But it would always come back. This was normal as the rest of the crew told them. But they insisted not to give in. This was what the mist…the curse…wanted. They said jumping overboard could be a fate worse than death. It wasn't worth the risk.

But it got more tempting as timelessness started to torture them. One of the guys among them eventually jumped. Even when Kanjo and Rojikku first got stuck on the ship, the guy who jumped over always had an air of melancholy about him. The crew figured he would eventually give in. But that's when Rojikku and Kanjo first heard the scream that the crew told them about when someone would jump. It was the scream that kept everyone on board and gave them the will to stay, and gave them hope that one day, they would eventually get out of here.

It really did get Rojikku curious what on earth was beyond the haze that he had gotten used to seeing constantly. It was to the point where life before getting stuck here seemed fuzzy…so long ago. Eventually, Kanjo started to get agitated, talking aggressively to the other sailors, almost getting in a physical altercation with one of them. Rojikku stopped it before it escalated; insisting that fighting wasn't going to help the situation. The captain said that some fights have gotten to the point where people have killed each other, but they had learned to grow beyond that. The bodies were decomposed on the bottom of the ship, but their souls still stayed trapped on the ship. Sometimes they would even see ghosts of the ones that died on the ship. No one liked going downstairs, from all the paranormal activity that went on from the ghosts of the sailors that passed on without falling in the grasp of the fog. Death wasn't the escape, and all they had was each other, after all.

But the timelessness teased them constantly, almost inviting them into the mystery of the eternal haze that surrounded them.

"What the hell do you want from us?!" Kanjo yelled at the mist in frustration as if it were going to answer back. "I'll make a deal…"

"Kanjo, you sound ridiculous," Rojikku said. "You're not speaking to anything!"

"Shut up! I'm sick of this shit, I wanna get out of here!" Kanjo yelled. "If this stupid curse is so badass, then why haven't we jumped yet? It's not so tough now, is it? I want a deal. Give us one hint! Just one! And I'll try to figure out how to get out of here…if I can't, then I'll jump overboard!"

Rojikku shook his head, more out of feeling bad for his friend. He was sure he was going to go mental soon.

But there was a loud, deep evil laugh that came from all around them, as if it were the haze itself. It echoed, and the feeling sent goose bumps down Rojikku's spine. It was one of the most unsettling laughs he's ever heard.

"Great, now you've gotten it mad!" One of the sailors said. "We're definitely gonners now!"

But everything was quiet, and back to normal.

Then there was a soft "thump" on the floor, and Rojikku picked up what was a thickly folded piece of paper.

"Holy shit, it was crazy enough to work," The captain said, rushing toward Rojikku. "Open it!"

"What if it's a trap?" Rojikku said.

"Open the damn thing. At this point we don't have much to lose," Kanjo said, grabbing the paper and unfolding it impatiently.

But their discouragement came as quickly as their hope left.

"It's just a bunch of swiggly lines," One of the sailors said as he took a look at the paper that landed in the ship from the haze.

"Well, we're fucked, and now we got the thing mad," the sailor said, glaring at Kanjo. "Way to go, asshole."

"Hey, at least I fucking tried! I got something out of this shit! What the hell have you accomplished this whole time besides sitting on your ass in here?" Kanjo retorted aggressively.

"That's enough, Kanjo." Rojikku said, looking at the paper. "I have a feeling this could mean something. I just need to think for a while what this could mean."

"Really? Because it looks like gibberish to me." The sailor said.

"Well, it's all we've got, so we might as well work with it." The captain said. "I have a feeling maybe you guys are gonna be the ones to get us outta here. This is the first time this has happened."

But no matter how long Rojikku or anyone else stared at the old, worn paper; no one could fathom what the scrawls could mean. The only thing that started happening shortly after the discovery of the paper was a high pitched whirring sound, which was starting to annoy everyone. At first, no one thought much of it since the sound was originating from the bottom of the ship where the ghosts of the sailors had passed were located, but it ended up continuing endlessly, the sound seemingly getting louder and louder the longer they tried to ignore it.

"Well, who's gonna check what the hell it is?" One of the sailors said, looking down at the entrance to the bottom of the ship when the crew came down to the conclusion that it wasn't going to stop unless someone figured out what on earth the sound was.

"I'm not doing it," another sailor said, looking intimidated.

Eventually, all the sailors looked towards their captain, hoping his courage would ensue at this dire moment.

"You can't back out on us now, Captain," one of the sailors said.

The Captain stood quiet, gulping loudly. He told himself there wasn't much he could lose, and if the way to getting out the ship was to go down to the bottom of the heavily haunted ship, he was going to have to do it for himself, his crew…and his queen.

"Alright, I'll do it," the Captain said, standing up straight, trying to be ready for whatever awaited him.

"We'll go with you," Rojikku said, turning to Kanjo.

"Huh?! Why're you looking at me?" Kanjo said glaring at Rojikku for volunteering him.

"You were the one that said you were going to find a way out of here, weren't you?" Rojikku taunted. "Unless you're scared."

He knew his friend so well. Kanjo was too proud to back down a challenge, no matter how grave the situation.

"I'm not scared," Kanjo denied, walking past the captain, next to the entrance of the bottom of the ship. "I'll be the first to go in."

And Kanjo bravely, and rashly, entered inside the ship, only to hear a petrifying screech once he entered. But the whirring sound was even louder than before, and even though Kanjo was tempted to stay frozen exactly where he was, he turned back to the Captain and Rojikku.

"Come on," he said, walking inside.

The ship smelled like death, mold, and decay, but that was expected. The three men covered their nose to try and shield the putrid smell that surrounded everything. At this point, the high pitched sound was overwhelming, and they felt like it could split their brains in two.

"We have to find a light source in here," Rojikku struggled to say, as it was pitch black down there.

The captain felt around for a light source, since he knew how to maneuver around the ship the best. But when the light turned on, they didn't expect to see what they saw.

It took all the power that Kanjo had not to turn around and run back where he came from. Even then, they wouldn't be able to leave. The door to the entrance closed and slammed by itself, locking them inside.

In front of them was a man, who had half of his face bludgeoned and was almost unrecognizable.

"_GET ME OOOOOUUUUUUTTTT!" _the bludgeoned man screeched, tossing all sorts of objects everywhere around the bottom of the boat, including the three men.

They all screamed when they felt themselves being hurled by an unknown source against the walls.

Rojikku and Kanjo recovered quickly from the inhuman strength that threw them, but the captain was pinned against the wall by what appeared to be absolutely nothing. The bludgeoned man was nowhere to be seen.

"F-find…out…what the sound issss…" The captain struggled to say, as it looked like he was being choked. There were finger marks that were starting to form around his neck.

Rojikku rushed to find out where the source of the sound was coming from, while Kanjo tried to get the Captain off the wall.

As Rojikku walked towards a clothed skeleton, the light that the captain turned on started flickering uncontrollably.

"Dammit," Rojikku said, trying to find his way toward the skeleton.

The ship started to sway to and fro, causing Rojikku to lose balance.

"You have to hurry up, Rojikku! The Captain's passing out!" Kanjo called.

"I'm trying!" Rojikku said, finally able to approach the dead body that decomposed so long ago. He dug in the pockets of the clothed skeleton, coughing and doing his best not to hurl as the smell and feel of the clothing was the most disgusting thing he's ever had to come in contact with.

Rojikku shoved his hand in the pocket of the dead body, as he felt something vibrating quickly there, and the whirring sound was so loud at this point he would have preferred death over hearing it anymore as it felt like his ears started to bleed from the torture it was causing him.

Once he removed what was in the corpse's pocket, the skeleton automatically sat up, facing Rojikku, worms, maggots, and roaches crawling all over its face.

"That's mine!" It said, laughing maniacally as the lights turned off completely, the whirring sound getting so unbearable all three men cried out in pain and sheer terror as horrid images of the worst demons one can think of manifested, even though it was dark. Rojikku heard the captain coughing and gasping for air, which meant that he was out of the grip of whatever was holding him.

With the demons that teased them endlessly, they saw images of what could be all of the universe's horrors that ever existed, torturing their soul and their very existence. The images they saw in the pitch black were images that no human being ever wished to see. The more they begged for the images of sin and torture to stop, the worse they got, and they tried everything, even closing their eyes, but the images grew ever stronger and more detailed if they dared close their eyes. Eventually they lost touch with what was real and what were illusions as they lost track of how long they stood in the bottom of that boat, seemingly like an eternity passing and coming as the depths of hell and back seemed to permeate through them.

And then as if it all lasted but only one second, the images ceased, the bottom of the boat going back to normal as the light turned back on, as if nothing had went on in the boat in the first place.

The three men looked at each other, questioning their reality, and themselves, as if anything that happened was even real. After a couple of minutes, it sunk in what they were down here for, and the eerie silence reminded them that the whirring stopped, and they remembered what they came to the bottom of the boat for.

In Rojikku's right hand, he noticed he still was holding on to what had been making the sound, clutching it tightly as the images of all his fears had still been ingrained into his memory. And as he looked down, he saw it was…a compass.

"All of that…for this?" Rojikku asked, looking down at the normal compass that stopped moving. He assumed the sound was it spinning so rapidly he was surprised it didn't self-destruct.

"It has to mean something," Kanjo said.

The door opened, slightly ajar, as if the boat was telling them their suffering was almost over.

"Let's get outta here," the captain said, finally feeling a glimmer of hope even after all the images he had endured, wanting to gauge his eyes and ears out, and lose all his senses for the things he felt could have been nothing worse than the deepest pits of hell and horror.

But the three men had an understanding of each other that they never felt they would ever have with anyone else in their lives as they walked back up to the top of the ship. What they had to endure was a curse…but also a blessing. There was absolutely nothing that could possibly scare them in life ever again…not after what they were put to endure just for the possible escape of getting out of this endless hazy fog that kept them here for so long.

"That was fast," One of the sailors said as they all greeted the three men who had the courage to get to the bottom of what was going on.

"…How much time passed?" Rojikku asked, turning to the sailor who made the comment.

"…Didn't seem longer than a couple of minutes." The sailor said. "But boy, were we worried! You guys were screaming as if you've never been tortured in your lives!"

"….You have no idea." Kanjo said, almost drained from all the suffering that he had to endure in what felt like an eternity, but to his knowledge, was only a couple of minutes. He would never, ever be the same again. But this made him stronger, much stronger, and gave him an enlightenment he thought he would never get. It made him realize, that if he were to escape this mist alive, it cost him a great price. Ignorance truly is bliss, and only Rojikku would ever be able to even fathom the newfound wisdom that forever changed him.

Then the whirring started again, but it wasn't loud, and torturous like the sound it was making when it was at the bottom of the ship. Rojikku looked at the compass, trying to find out why it had started spinning again.

"Give me the paper," Rojikku said.

And then it clicked.

The paper wasn't a bunch of swiggly lines…they were directions in the direction to sail the ship…that'll get them out of here. He notice the compass was spinning in the same direction that the lines on the paper were mapped out…north-up; east-right; west-left; and it seemed like the ship would be sailing aimlessly, for the lines overlapped, went backwards, and back to square one…but it would get them out eventually, if they followed these directions to the end.

Rojikku explained this to the rest of the crew, and as excited as they were to finally figure this out, the captain made one good point.

"Even though this boat is moving, in reality, there's no wind for it to change directions. So even if we have the directions to get out of here, there's no wind for us to be able to move the ship. It was all a trap."

But Rojikku smiled. "We do have wind."

"How?" The captain asked.

Rojikku smirked, looking at Kanjo, and Kanjo already knew what to do. "Get this ship ready, captain. You're finally getting out of here."

The captain, a confused look on his face, nodded, taking his directions skeptically.

And then he found out why, as Kanjo created wind, moving the ship as desired.

"It was you guys, you were really destined to get us out…" The captain said in awe.

"I told you I get things done when I put my mind to something. I was _not_ planning on staying here forever, and I was _not_ planning on losing this bet and jumping in the fog." Kanjo said proudly.

But it was a long journey as the ship had to take a seemingly directionless adventure through a mist that seemed to give no hope of seeing anything new. Halfway through the journey, Kanjo was growing weary, and he started to breath heavily.

"Your chakra is low," Rojikku stated.

"I have to keep going, I can't stop now," Kanjo said, determined. "If we stop, we could get lost and be stuck in here."

"You can't overwork yourself," Rojikku said.

"I have to do this…help me." Kanjo said, turning to Rojikku.

Rojikku nodded, giving him his chakra reserves, eventually pushing them to the end of their journey. And as if all hope had returned, the crew cheered as they saw a bright light waiting ahead of them.

"We did it…we did it…" The captain said. "You guys did it!"

And as the boat got smothered by a holy light, they found out they were back in the ocean again, the daylight almost blinding their eyes as they took in all the blue that surrounded them. The crew never thought they would be so happy to see the sun again.

Rojikku and Kanjo noticed the crew looked happier, but had aged. They must have been stuck in timelessness for a long time. Getting out of the fog, they must have been brought back to their respective ages as the curse was broken, never to torture another soul again.

The captain walked toward Rojikku and Kanjo, having an aura of thankfulness.

"I want to thank you for helping me and my crew. It was just as my visions showed me…and for that, I must give this to you," he said, lending them a satchel. "Bring this to your home and give it to your leader. By the time you get there, he'll know what to do with it, trust me."

Kanjo took the bag, looking inside. "They're just seeds," he said, confused and unimpressed.

"Don't let appearances deceive you. Those were seeds that were very hard to obtain. I searched and traveled the world to find those seeds, and I finally found a merchant who was going to trade them with me for all the gold and jewels I owned. It was my last voyage before I was going to settle down."

"Well, what do they do?" Rojikku asked.

"Those seeds can bring you anywhere on the planet in a second…anywhere you choose! They're very hard to find, because the poison fruit it comes from is an endangered species. But you two deserve to use some of them. Take one out, and toss it in the air. It'll take you to the location you have in mind. I wanted to give it to my queen as a gift, but I feel they're no longer needed after all this time.

"I can't take you home. I'm headed north, in hopes of reuniting with my true love. I'm going to wait for her. I know in my heart that I will see her again, but I need to make sure everything is right in our village for her return. I'll never forget you guys. I'm from the Land of snow, in the main city on the island that is closest to the North Pole. You're always welcome. I'll inform the queen of your heroic act."

The Captain took a seed out of the satchel, tossing it in the air, and a small portal opened, as if creating a mini wormhole in the universe.

"Goodbye, friends," the captain said, waving. "Go home, you don't have much time to lose. I think many people were awaiting your return a long time ago."

And that's when Rojikku and Kanjo realized they had no idea how much time had passed by since they got stuck on the ship. They figured not that long since they had not aged drastically like the rest of the crew, but they were desperate to go back to Suna. They both nodded, and bid the crew and the captain farewell. They jumped into the portal, traveling in a wormhole through space-time to greet their friends and family back home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto woke up in a cold sweat again; remembering what the evil queen had told him after the real queen disappeared.

"I know she was here," the evil queen told Kabuto, not happy with the interaction. "That rat was able to get through to you, unfortunately. Don't listen to a word she says. Nothing she says will work."

"I don't believe that." Kabuto said defiantly.

"Are you going to dare defy me?!" The Queen said angrily. "You better remember the deal we made. Don't tell anyone a thing." She said, threateningly.

There was only one reason why she was so angry right now…and that was because she knew that if the plan worked, she would be tossed back in the underworld where she belonged. The real queen was being truthful, and she knew that. Kabuto smirked, and the evil queen didn't like the look on Kabuto's face.

"So this is how you betray me after all I've done for you…" the queen said, voice quivering. "I favored you. I spared your life over all the ones I've taken away…and yet this is how you repay me."

At this point, Kabuto didn't really give a shit about her feigned feelings. She was a manipulative bitch, and he wasn't going to be manipulated to work for anyone anymore. He'll take his chances.

"Fine, have it your way." The queen said angrily. "I haven't garnered enough power to freeze over the world, but I have just enough to freeze over this country. You say a thing about this, and I _will_ leave the scrolls and everything in this country shall be frozen, just like the Land of Earth. All vegetation will die, many children will cease to exist as they starve, and the ones that survive will work for me, and I'll train them from a young age to be my soldiers for any fool who dares resist me!" The queen said angrily, disappearing.

Kabuto looked around in his jail cell, thoughts wrestling in his mind about how he was going to inform the Kazekage about this. He didn't have a choice. They had to defeat her as soon as possible, even if Suna and all the other villages in the Wind Country would be frozen. And deep down, he really wanted to help the real queen, whose benevolence was almost contagious.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sheesh, from the way the temperature's been I wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing!" Mimi said figuratively to Rubi, the both of them just getting out of work. They were going to meet up with Ryu, and were waiting for him outside of the building for his arrival.

"Don't you think that's a bit exaggerated?" Rubi said, looking around for Ryu. "This guy always takes forever!"

"I wish I was exaggerating," Mimi said, considering that maybe she wasn't being so figurative. She didn't even have to wear her cloth over her head anymore. "Ryu never comes that late, I just think you miss him," Mimi joked.

"What do you mean by that?" Rubi said, eyeing her skeptically. "He's my best friend."

Mimi stifled a snort at the "best friend" statement. "I'm sorry, I just find that hard to believe. You guys act like a married couple sometimes. I have a feeling you guys are more than just friends."

"What?!" Rubi said. "No, never. We've just been friends since we were kids. We're that close."

"Yeah, right," Mimi said. "I suspect there's more going on between you…or maybe you're just oblivious."

"No, we're just friends!" Rubi said. "…With benefits," she added after a short pause, laughing.

"Ah, now it all makes sense. I don't think I could ever really do that with anyone."

"Why not? It's fun. No strings attached! It's quite refreshing." Rubi said. "You really should try it. You haven't seen _anyone_ since you got here. Don't tell me you're still moping around about that asshole up north!"

"No, not really. I'm pretty much over it. He's turning into that 'I don't know what the hell I was thinking' kind of ex."

"So then start looking around! Maybe a Suna guy would change your mind about men. You already have one guy friend that you can try," Rubi hinted.

Mimi rolled her eyes. Rubi knew she wasn't supposed to be talking to him anymore. At this point, she didn't know why she kept pushing Kankuro on her, but she ignored her comment. "Eh, a lot of the time I hear of situations where one person always catches feelings. It ends up making things complicated and ruins the friendship…but if you guys have been doing it for a while I guess you're an exception. I'd rather not take my chances with the whole friends with benefits thing."

"So you're really not talking to Kankuro anymore?" Rubi said.

"No, I'm not. We haven't spoken." Mimi said irritably. "Can you stop? You know we're not supposed to be talking."

"Really? Because Ryu's been telling me that he saw Kankuro leaving your building the other night when he was going home from training."

Ryu and his big ass mouth. She could kick him. "I don't know. Maybe Kankuro had to do a mission around the area," Mimi said, shrugging it off and playing dumb.

"What's UUUPPPP!" Mimi heard Ryu say loudly before Rubi could reply. He ended up tripping, and doing a forward flip to hide the fact that he tripped. "No one saw that."

Mimi and Rubi laughed. "You're really something else, Ryu."

"So what are we gonna do today?" Rubi asked.

"I was thinking of going for some Ramen. I finished training a little while ago and I'm starving!"

"It's been a while since I've had ramen," Rubi said. "It's a bit chilly today. I think a nice hot bowl of ramen will be nice. What do you think, Mimi?"

"Okay," Mimi said. "I've never had ramen before. It'll be nice to try something new."

Ryu and Rubi both had shocked looks on their faces.

"What do you mean you've never had ramen before?! That's crazy!" Ryu said loudly. "Rubi, you know what this means."

Rubi nodded. "We'll treat you to ramen today. You won't regret it. How on earth have you never eaten Ramen before?"

Mimi shrugged. "We never ate that stuff up north. We ate a lot of meat because of the cold, so it was rare that we would eat things like that. The clan that lives at the northernmost part of the island never even cooks their meat. We only got to eat vegetables and fruits during the summer, but the season was short, and we harvested as many fruits as we could and dried them so we can eat them as snacks during the colder months, but it didn't last the whole winter."

"Really? How on earth are you so skinny?" Ryu asked bluntly.

"Ryu, that's mean. Don't ask girls questions like that!" Rubi snapped, punching him lightly on the arm.

"No, it's okay…" Mimi said. "I know I'm small. Cold weather can burn a ridiculous amount of calories. Our diets were fit for the weather up north. And people told me my mom was really short and petite so I guess I inherited it from her. But now that I've been down here there are so many other types of foods to try so I haven't been eating as much meat as I usually do. Ever since I've been living here, I've been learning new recipes and trying new stuff out. I'll definitely want to try some ramen."

"Let's go!" Ryu said, grabbing the both of them. "Poor Mimi, you've been so deprived!"

"I think you're being a bit melodramatic, Ryu," Rubi joked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oooh, I think I'll try the ramen with the pork in it. We don't eat a lot of pork up north." Mimi said.

"Wait, then what type of meat did you eat?" Rubi asked.

"Mostly fish, duck, sometimes seal meat."

"Seal meat? Ew, that sounds gross!" Ryu said, which got him a hard smack upside his head from Rubi.

"You're really culturally insensitive, you know that, Ryu?" Rubi said, annoyed with his comments.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing his head. "No need to smack me so hard."

"It's okay, Ryu," Mimi said. She found most of his comments funny. Kanjo reacted the same way to a lot of the things she would tell him about when she would tell stories of how life was up north, so she was quite used to it by now, and anticipated similar reactions like that from other people. Now that she thought of it, it's been a while since she's seen him and Rojikku around Suna. She hoped they were doing okay.

As their ramen was served, Mimi was overhearing a conversation three guys were having nearby as she ate. Well, she wouldn't really consider it eavesdropping being that they were so loud and people from the shop next to them could probably hear them as well. They seemed to be having an eating contest of some sort.

"I bet I can eat more bowls of ramen than you, Naruto!" A guy with red paint on his face said to a blond guy sitting next to him.

"No you can't! No one can! Wanna bet?" The blond replied.

And eventually Mimi saw they started ordering massive amounts of ramen, eating bowl after bowl quicker than Mimi could imagine was even possible. Jeez, she was getting full eating one bowl, which tasted really good. She couldn't imagine eating numerous bowls, though. They must have bottomless pits as stomachs, but guys will be guys, she supposed.

"Don't you think this is quite gluttonous, guys?" Another guy that was sitting with them asked. Mimi could barely see his face; it was covered with a huge jacket and a hood. He was eating his own bowl of ramen like a normal human being, thankfully. He seemed to be the voice of reason among the three.

"No, Kiba thinks he can compete with me, I'm not gonna let him try to beat me in a ramen eating contest!" The blond said loudly. "This ramen isn't as good as Ichiraku's, but it's still tasty!" He said.

That was a bit rude to say right in front of the people who were working there. She assumed people from the south were more open mouthed about their opinions, though. Kankuro and Temari were like that, too…and especially Ryu.

Mimi then heard a whimper near the guy with the face paint, and she looked down, seeing a very big dog with sad puppy eyes. Aw, poor baby. He probably wanted some ramen, but the guys seemed to be too invested in their…contest to notice.

Mimi made kissy noises to the dog, offering him a piece of her pork. He looked in her direction, rushing toward her and took the piece of pork out of her hand, licking her hand in appreciation after swallowing it whole.

"Aaaw, you're such a cutie pie," Mimi said, petting his head.

"Wow, that's a huge dog!" Rubi said, patting the dogs head as well. "Does he bite?"

The dog barked friendlily, wagging his tail, panting.

"Aaaaaaaw!" Mimi said, petting his fur. "He's soooo cute! I wish I could keep him!"

"He looks like he can swallow you whole, Mimi," Ryu said, eyeing the dog.

"Aw, don't say that Ryu, he's like a big baby!" Mimi said, playing with the giant dog.

"I wouldn't say so," Ryu mumbled. He could tell that guy was an Inuzuka, and he heard about their clan. They were known to be ferocious fighters. Those guys had to be from Konoha.

Mimi gave the dog more of her pork, and she giggled as he licked her hand as she was petting the dog. "You're such a good doggy!" Mimi said, playing with the dog for a while as he enjoyed all of the attention.

"Hey, where's Akamaru?" The guy with the face paint eventually said, looking around.

"Hah! I win!" Naruto said, finishing another bowl.

"Stop cheating! I was looking for Akamaru!"

"No, you lost!" The guy named Naruto said indignantly.

"Shino, you're the referee, tell him he's not competing fairly!"

"I didn't say I ever agreed to be the referee."

"Shino, you're no help, go home." Naruto said.

"Thanks, you're so nice to me," the guy in the long coat said sarcastically, peacefully finishing his bowl of ramen.

"Ah, there you are, Akamaru!" The guy with the face paint said, walking toward Mimi. "Sorry, I hope he wasn't bothering you."

"Oh, not at all," Mimi said, continuing to pet the dog apparently named Akamaru. "He's very cute."

"He seems to have taken a liking to you," The guy said, sitting down next to her.

Mimi smiled. "I guess so. I've always liked dogs."

"Really? That's awesome, me too!" The guy said. "I think they should have their own holiday."

Mimi giggled. "That would be fun!"

"Pssst, let's go get some drinks…" Rubi whispered to Ryu, who had already finished his bowl of ramen.

Ryu nodded in agreement, smirking, knowing Rubi's intentions. They both paid the bill, leaving a tip and sneaking off while Mimi was having a conversation with the guy.

"I'm Kiba, by the way," the guy said to Mimi, smiling to reveal teeth that looked oddly carnivorous. It was something Mimi wasn't familiar with, but assumed it was a trait of his clan or something, like his narrow pupils and face paint…or whatever the markings on his face were.

"I'm Himitsu, but you can call me Mimi," Mimi answered, giving a shy smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I know I should have approached this situation sooner," Gaara said to Shikamaru and Temari, who were sitting down in chairs on the other side of his desk at his office. "But I have been very busy due to the current situation at hand."

Temari sighed. "Why did you call us in here, Gaara? We have a bunch of paperwork to finish."

"As do I." Gaara replied. "But we need to get this out of the way now. We don't have much time to wait."

"What are you talking about?" Temari asked in anticipation, tired of her brother beating around the bush.

"We need to start planning your wedding, soon."

"What? We just got engaged." Temari said, looking down at her ring.

"With all due respect, don't you think you should be worrying about…other things at this current moment?" Shikamaru interjected.

"_With all due respect_, Nara, I _am_ dealing with that situation the best I can right now, and maybe if you didn't dare impregnate my sister out of wedlock, we wouldn't be discussing this at the moment. So I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself, because as Kankuro would say, you're still on my 'shit' list." Gaara said to him coldly, with Kankuro who was standing near him, nodding in agreement.

"Mine too," Kankuro added.

"You guys are being ridiculous." Temari said. "It doesn't matter if I got pregnant out of wedlock."

"It matters to us." Gaara said. "And now we need to try and fix your possibly tarnished reputation, since _someone_ didn't care to consider that," Gaara said, glaring at Shikamaru.

"I didn't know she was going to get pregnant!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Oh, so what did you expect to happen when you decided to fuck our sister, '_genius_'—"

"That's enough, Kankuro!" Temari said. "I can't believe you called me over here for this, Gaara. It's no one's decision but mine and Shikamaru's to decide when we're going to plan the wedding, and I think many people would agree that planning it now is _not_ the right time. And I find it insulting that you really think I 'tarnished' my reputation."

"We don't think you tarnished your reputation. We think he did." Gaara said matter-of-factly. "The best option would be to marry before you start showing."

Temari could not believe he just said that. They had a lot of nerve. "The both of you need to butt out of my personal life. This is none of your business! I'm old enough to make my own decisions!"

"I've already found a wedding planner for you. Kankuro, please drop this letter off at the address attached," Gaara ordered. "We just want what's best for you."

"Kankuro, don't send that," Temari said to him threateningly. "I'm older than you. You better listen to me!"

But he ignored her, walking out of the office. She didn't really expect that to work. They weren't children anymore.

"I don't care. I'm not interested in your wedding planner. Don't call me over to your office for this nonsense again. I'll get married whenever I please. Come on, Shikamaru." Temari said angrily, storming out of the office in a way that even intimidated Gaara. Shikamaru quietly followed, not bothering to even look Gaara in the face. He already felt his cold stare slicing through him, as if this whole ordeal was his fault. Shikamaru wanted to tell him it takes two to tango, but he didn't want to risk any more injuries. The shiner he received the other day was not something he was looking forward to again.

"Can you believe them? They have a lot of nerve to try to pull this crap." Temari said as they were going back to finish their work. "That was a complete waste of our time, don't you think?"

"It's not that much of a big deal to me." Shikamaru commented.

"Don't tell me you're taking their side!" Temari said, glaring at him.

"Well, I think Gaara has a point. What's so wrong about them trying to get you married to me as soon as possible?" Shikamaru said. "I say let them hire the wedding planner. Saves us the trouble anyway."

"You're no better than them," Temari said, sighing. "We have a huge threat going on right now. We can't be worrying about stuff like this at the moment."

"Problems are always going to pop up, Temari," Shikamaru said. "We can't let that get in the way of us."

Temari stood silent. He had a point. "I know…it's just, now it's not just me and you," she said, looking at her stomach, gently putting her hand over it. "I worry about…it."

Shikamaru took her hand, and there were no words needed to give her reassurance that they will get through this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro dropped off the letter, now casually walking back to Gaara's office to see if there was any progress in the investigation going on. Gaara had sent the interrogators to ask Kabuto more questions, and he was keen to find out if there were any more leads. With the way the weather has been acting, they had to get to the bottom of this soon. As he was walking by, he heard a familiar laugh. Following the voices, he saw Mimi talking with...Kiba?

"Yeah, I'm a shinobi from Konoha. I have some stuff to take care of here. I come to Suna every now and then. It depends."

"I've heard so many good things about the shinobi from Konoha." Mimi said. "A lot of you guys saved the world from evil."

"Yeah, it was no big deal, really." Kankuro heard Kiba say, obviously stretching the truth. "Us Inuzukas nearly did it all by ourselves."

Bullshit.

"Oh really?" Mimi said. "That's impressive! I guess having the dogs gives you guys a huge advantage."

She actually believed that idiot. This whole thing was getting him upset.

"Yep. Dogs are awesome," Kiba said, petting Akamaru, who was sitting silently and wagging his tail.

"I agree. I used to take care of a lot of dogs when I used to live up north. They are vital when we want to get around in deep snow when we travel," Kankuro heard her say.

"Oh you're from up north?" Kiba asked.

"Yes."

"I figured you weren't from around here," Kiba said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're very…exotic."

Mimi blushed. "Oh…well, I wouldn't consider myself that…"

"Would you consider letting me take you out on a date?"

The question caught Mimi off guard. She thought about it for a split second, and figured one date wouldn't hurt. Thinking about what Rubi was telling her earlier, it wouldn't hurt to try.

Without really thinking about it, Kankuro walked toward where Mimi and Kiba was.

"Hey, Mimi," Mimi heard someone say before she was going to answer the question.

"Oh…hey Kankuro," Mimi said not too enthusiastically. They weren't supposed to be talking, and he was boldly speaking to her in public. They could end up getting caught. She figured he did it because it's not like anyone from Konoha would know about that anyway. But still, it was reckless. There were still other people around.

"I see you've met Kiba," he said, sitting down next to her casually and ordering the first thing listed on the menu. "Long time no see," he said to Kiba.

"Um…hi." He said to Kankuro, not really sure what he was doing. They've barely exchanged sentences with each other, so this came off as a bit surprising to him.

"Uh…yeah," Mimi said, suddenly feeling awkward. "How do you guys know each other?"

"I saved him before he got his ass whooped by an enemy." Kankuro said, smirking at Kiba. "But he wouldn't have told you that. He probably would have elaborated some stupid story about how he turned down a position to be the next Hokage." he said sarcastically.

Kiba glared daggers at him.

"It's alright, though," Kankuro continued. "It's not like Mimi cares anyway. She's not interested in dating anyone, since she still isn't over her ex. Isn't that right?" He said, looking at her with an expression Mimi didn't quite get.

Mimi's eyes widened in shock at his audaciousness. She was speechless. Why would he embarrass her like that? Fueled with anger and annoyance, Mimi took off.

"What the hell was that about?" Kiba said angrily to him.

"What was what about?" Kankuro asked smugly.

"You just cockblocked me! Why'd you do that?" Kiba asked, not sure what his motive was for intruding on the conversation he was having. "I should kick your ass for that, dude."

"…Right." Kankuro said dismissively, shrugging off the threat. Kiba didn't intimidate him in the least.

"You're a fucking asshole."

"Hey, Kiba, I think we should get going. If we stay any longer, Naruto's going to give himself a stomachache," Shino said.

Kiba stood up and walked away reluctantly, knowing that Shino just used that as an excuse to avoid anything from escalating. He knew that Shino saw everything that just happened.

Shino snickered lowly after Kiba went back to sit with Naruto, who was trying to order another bowl of ramen, with Kiba trying to talk him out of it, saying he was going to get himself sick.

"What's so funny?" Kankuro asked, looking at Shino skeptically. He never really liked Shino much, to be honest.

"I think you should stick to wearing black. Green isn't a good color on you," Shino said, before walking away.

Kankuro scowled at him. What was he implying?

"Hey, look, it's snowing!" Kankuro heard Naruto say loudly, causing the civilians to mumble in confusion as they started to notice that he was right.

That wasn't good. He had to tell Gaara about this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Lord Kazekage, Kabuto is requesting you speak to him personally." The interrogator said to Gaara, who was standing reluctantly in his office, knowing he won't be very satisfied with this news.

"For what reasons?" Gaara stated.

"He insists that we won't believe him. We tried everything we could to make him talk, but he refused to answer without you there. He says it's for the safety of the village."

"Hn," Gaara said, thinking. Usually when Kabuto's trying to be helpful, it's because he's up to no good. "Did he act in any way that might seem suspicious?"

"No, sir. He acted quite the opposite, actually. He looked extremely bothered; his mind seemed to be elsewhere."

"I see. If he is refusing to disclose information to you, I will go." Gaara said, walking out of his office, only to see Kankuro waiting for him.

"Where were you? It took you quite long to drop off that letter." Gaara said to him.

"I got hungry."

"Hn," Gaara said, eyeing him skeptically. "Come with me. Kabuto might have important news that will be able to help us."

"About that," Kankuro said. "You know it started snowing outside, right?"

"It has? We must act soon. Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You do know this story is hard to believe," Gaara stated, arms crossed.

"Yes, I know, but I'm just telling you what I experienced." Kabuto said, leaning towards Gaara.

"Keep your distance," Kankuro said.

"Please hear me out." Kabuto said, leaning back in his own seat. "This is the only way we'll be able to defeat the queen. You say it's already started snowing. The whole country will be frozen over soon, trust me. That's what happened when I was getting here while I was in the Land of Earth."

"This sounds like something from a fairy tale. You can't expect us to take this seriously!" Kankuro said. "A satchel of rare magical seeds that'll take us to another world? What kind of quackery is that?"

"I'm just saying what was told to me."

"In a dream." Gaara stated flatly.

"I know it sounds crazy, but answer this: are there two shinobi that you're expecting to return that haven't returned yet?"

"There are many shinobi that leave and return from missions every day. This doesn't make you sound any more credible." Gaara stated, getting agitated.

"Fine, don't believe me," Kabuto said, giving up. "This is all the information I have for you. Do what you want with it. But I warn you that things will only get worse since I made the choice to tell you this. The queen is angry, and she's going to take her wrath out on everyone in the village."

"We're done here," Gaara said, walking away, Kankuro following him.

"What are you gonna do?" Kankuro asked Gaara, who was silent.

"…I have no choice but to do what I can to ensure the safety of the people. On the chance that what Kabuto was saying is the truth, we have to gather all civilians to a safe area. Many of them don't have the resources to survive the weather that is to come."

As they walked back outside, Kankuro and Gaara stood, shocked. Suna barely looked recognizeable as blankets of white covered the usual sandy ground, with the snowfall getting heavier by the minute.

"This is unreal…" Kankuro said.

"Lord Kazekage! There you are!" Matsuri called, rushing to Gaara. "Kanjo and Rojikku have finally returned! They said they have something important to give you. It has something to do with this snowfall."

"Did they tell you what it was?" Gaara asked.

"It's a small bag with seeds in it. I didn't understand the significance, but they said you would understand."

"Take me to them immediately." Gaara said. "Kankuro, make sure the shinobi gather all the civilians in a safe location. I'll take care of this."

Kankuro nodded, running off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We tried to get here as fast as we could," Rojikku told Gaara.

"How did you get ahold of this?" Gaara asked, taking the satchel.

And that's when they told Gaara the story of how they got caught into a cursed ship, and how the captain had given it to them after they successfully escaped.

"This is just getting more unbelievable…" Gaara said. "Thank you, Kanjo and Rojikku. This has definitely given us the upper hand in this situation. As you can see around you…things aren't turning out well in our favor."

"Lord Kazekage," Gaara heard someone say from behind him. It was Shimo-sama, who was standing with some snow shinobi. They had been staying here, helping them with the investigation, giving them information on what was going on in their island to see if it would give them any leads. They must have come looking for him after seeing the unstable weather conditions in the village.

"I wanted to inform you that backup should be coming very soon, probably sometime today," Shimo-sama continued. "I had anticipated that something like this would happen a while ago. Luckily, we have shinobi that can endure this type of environment. They should be of assistance to you."

"Thank you, Shimo-sama." Gaara said. "And it seems we have also come up with a solution to this problem…however, it will prove to be extremely difficult."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Most of the people were gathered in a safe place, many of the sand shinobi assisting with bringing in more civilians.

"Kankuro, there is a school of children that are still not here," Sari said to him. "The shinobi sent to retrieve them has been gone for a while. I'm worried."

"I'll go look for him," Kankuro said, going out in the worsening blizzard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi struggled to walk through the harsh winds that suddenly took over the village, snow already piling up at a dramatic rate. It started snowing soon after she left the ramen shop, and she got deeply worried, being that this was normal a hot desert where _it wasn't supposed to be snowing!_ Something horrible was going on, and she had no idea what to do. It seemed most of the villagers went in hiding, as everything was abnormally empty and barren.

Large icicles started penetrating the ground from up above in the sky, and Mimi barely dodged one.

"Okay, this is definitely not normal weather," Mimi told herself. Even up north where she was from, large icicles didn't start magically falling from the sky. She had to find a place to hide, fast.

"Argh…." Mimi heard in the distance. Someone seemed to be in pain.

Following the noise, she came across a man lying on the ground next to a school building, bleeding from his side.

"Oh no!" Mimi said, rushing to him. Seeing a large icicle next to him, she assumed he must have gotten hit with it.

"Don't worry about me; hide the children…" he struggled to say. "Please. I'll be fine. This injury is minor."

Looking up ahead, she saw a whole bunch of kids huddled in the corner of an alley near a school. So something bad did happen.

"Uh…okay! Here, just use this to stop the bleeding…I'll be right back," Mimi said, ripping a part of her loose clothing for the shinobi to use.

This was no place for children to be hiding in this weather. They weren't dressed properly for the weather and if she didn't find a place for them to hide quickly, they'll all get sick or freeze. But where was she going to hide them? Then she had an idea.

Urging the kids to follow her, she found an area that seemed sufficient enough to make a snow cave. Luckily, alone, she knew how to make one pretty fast, and with the help of the children, it would be quicker. Mimi told them to take turns digging in the snow with their hands, and eventually enough caves were made to hide all the children in them. She quickly covered the entrances enough for it not to be noticeable, but left a small opening for air to go in. This would do for now while she tried to help the other shinobi.

"And where do you think you're going?" Mimi heard a menacing voice say from behind her as she tried to run back to where the shinobi was injured.

As she turned around to see who it was, she saw a beautiful woman with a long dress and a crown, but her skin was tinted blue. A trail of ice was left behind her as she walked, and Mimi came down to the conclusion that she was the one who was at the bottom of this whole mess.

"Who are you?" Mimi asked.

"I am soon to be queen of this land," the woman said, lifting her left hand. "Where is your leader? I want to make a proposition with him."

"I don't know." Mimi said.

"Well then where are the other civilians?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying. There's a reason you're out here. You know something!" She said, her left hand starting to glow a light blue. "You're near a school…you have the children, don't you?"

"No," Mimi lied, worried that the queen would find them. They weren't far from the snow that she buried them in.

"Tell me where they are! I can use them as hostages to lure the leader of the village to me," The queen said, smirking. "I'll reward you nicely. You'll have a high position in my new empire if you work with me."

Mimi saw shards of ice being formed from her hands. "Tell me or suffer the consequences."

"I already said I don't know!" Mimi exclaimed, trying to think of a way to get away from the area so the queen will be less likely to find the children.

"That's too bad," the queen said complacently. "I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands."

"Not if you can't catch me," Mimi teased. "If you're able to catch me, I'll give you all the information you want."

"I don't have time for games!" The queen said angrily.

"Fine then, I won't help you." Mimi said in false confidence, and then started to run in the opposite direction of where the children were buried.

Mimi was able to run for a while, but eventually she saw that the queen was in front of her. This didn't surprise her. She just needed to be away from where they were at.

"That was too easy," The queen said, grabbing Mimi by her neck. "Now tell me what you know."

"I said…I…don't…know anything…" Mimi struggled to say.

The queen threw her down roughly, the snow cushioning Mimi from the hard ground.

"I don't like when people waste my time," she said, shooting a dagger of ice at Mimi.

"Ow!" Mimi said in pain as she felt something sharp go through her shoulder.

Mimi looked up to see a bunch of ice-like daggers aimed at her that the queen seemed to be controlling. She gasped, flinching as she saw them shoot in her direction.

But the daggers never hit her, and she heard a loud cry in pain from the queen instead. She looked up, to see that a familiar shinobi with white hair was standing in front of her, huge blue walls of chakra coming from his hands.

"Ryu…" Mimi said, looking in awe. The walls of chakra he made seemed to deflect the daggers right back to the queen. He must have been looking around the village to see if there were any civilians left outside.

"Are you okay?" He asked, noticing her wound.

"I'm okay," Mimi said. "There's a shinobi that's hurt," Mimi told him, clutching her shoulder.

"I took care of him. He's fine. Let me handle this," Ryu said, throwing a huge wall of chakra towards the queen, who had been stunned by the deflected attacks.

The queen stood up, and disappeared in a snowy fog before Ryu was able to plant another attack.

"She's gone," Ryu said, looking around for a threat.

After he was sure she wasn't coming back, he kneeled down to attend to her wound, leaving a shield around them just in case there would be any unexpected projectiles.

"I didn't know you could do this, Ryu," Mimi said, looking at the shield that surrounded them. "And you know medical ninjutsu too?"

"Just basic medical ninjutsu," Ryu said. "I'm a jack of all trades, master of none." He joked.

"Thank you, Ryu." Mimi said. She figured there was more to him than a lot of people gave him credit for. He wrapped her shoulder in bandages that he had on him.

"I need to take you to where the other civilians are. Rubi is worried about you."

"But I can't go just yet."

"Why not? It's not safe out here."

"I hid the children. When I found the shinobi on the ground, he told me to hide the children."

"He must have sensed that lady nearby. Show me where they are," Ryu said. "We have to take them to safety quickly."

He helped her stand up, and they walked to the area where she buried the children. The snow had stopped soon after the queen retreated, so it was easy for Mimi to locate them again.

"Where are they?" Ryu asked, looking around. "I don't see them anywhere."

Mimi dug open the entrances again, seeing the children huddled in the snow.

"Can we leave now, lady?" One of the children asked. "It's cold."

"What happened here?"

"Mimi hid the children from some blue lady," Ryu said, after seeing that it was Kankuro that found them and asked. "I overheard someone speaking in a weird dialect after I healed a shinobi who had gotten hit with one of the icicles. She was trying to kill Mimi but I scared her off."

That must have been the queen that Kankuro was told about. He looked at Mimi, who was starting to help the children get out of the snow, noticing the bandage on her shoulder.

"Looks like you came right on time," Kankuro said.

"Definitely. If I was one second later, she would have…gotten fatally injured."

Kankuro did not like the thought of that. "We need to get out of here."

Kankuro heard another voice say something he didn't quite understand.

"Oh no," Mimi said, standing in front of the children. She understood the threat. She had said that they weren't going anywhere.

The woman seemed to fit the description of what Ryu told him. Ryu automatically made a huge shield around everyone.

"You fell right into my trap. Of course I'd follow you to where you were going. Now tell me where your leader is, or die!" The queen said, both of her hands starting to glow.

"I don't know what you're saying, lady, but you're not gonna do anything to us!" Ryu said, throwing chakra from his hand that looked like a giant blue bullet.

_This guy's crazy! He's going to waste all of his chakra in no time if he keeps that up._ Kankuro thought as he saw Ryu attempt to attack the queen. He had this shield around them, too. Kankuro took out his puppets. This shield wasn't going to last long with the way this guy was fighting.

The queen dodged the bullet of chakra, but Kankuro saw that when he missed, the bullet returned back to Ryu, reabsorbing in his hand. Kankuro couldn't believe it. Because he had trouble preserving his chakra, he actually found a way to _recycle _it. He had to admit that was ingenious. That ability had a lot of potential.

"She keeps saying she wants to know where the Kazekage is," Mimi said. "That's what she said to me when I encountered her before, too."

"She must be stupid if she thinks we're going to tell her," Kankuro said.

The queen attempted to throw more ice daggers, but one of Kankuro's puppets blew fire and melted it, evaporating in the air. He tried to burn her with the puppet when it got close to her, but she immediately formed a tall, thick wall of ice that ascended from the ground. More walls of ice started to grow toward them. The shield protected them from above, but the giant ice blocks tossed them in the air as it hit them from below the ground, where they weren't protected. Mimi tried to get up quickly, gathering all the children to try and flee the scene. That was enough of a warning for Mimi to get the hell out of there.

"Nope…nope…no! Let's go, guys," Mimi said to the children, urging them to follow her away from the commotion.

But giant icicles surrounded her and the children, stopping them from going anywhere.

"Whoa, this is so cool!" One of the children said, in awe at the fight that was happening in front of them.

"Yeah, I wanna be a shinobi!" Another kid said.

"This is not cool!" Mimi said, shaking her head at their naiveté. They had no idea how dire this situation was. She tried to pull the icicles out from the ground, but it was no use.

"You shall suffer for your disobedience," The queen said, aiming a sharp ice dagger at Mimi. "This will lure the leader of this village to me for sure."

She had to think of something fast. The children could get hurt too! Looking around, Mimi threw a handful of snow at the queen's face through the gaps between the icicles, causing her to stumble back in surprise.

"Stupid peasant!" The queen said angrily, daggers surrounding their current prison of icicles.

But the queen got distracted again as the kids imitated Mimi's behavior, laughing as a bunch of snowballs hit the queen.

"Stop this!" The queen said angrily, distracted by all the snowballs. "You'll all pay for that!"

"Don't you dare!" Kankuro said, using one of his puppets to grab the queen and snap one of her wrists.

This caused the queen to attempt to retreat, but her going farther away made attacking easier for Kankuro. The queen ended up attempting to freeze Kankuro's puppets, but he took out another one while they were temporarily stunned. Kankuro fixed that issue from the last time, and they would be able to recover fairly quickly. Before the queen tried to take the opportunity to flee, Mimi saw giant blue balls of air being thrown at the queen. With one hand disabled and the other trying to freeze the puppets, she was only able to dodge them, but Ryu was able to catch two of them and put them in his pockets, throwing them back at her when he had the chance. She flew into a building through the walls, which crumbled to the ground. She disappeared before anyone else was going to chase after her.

Mimi looked in the other direction, trying to see where the blue balls of air came from. It couldn't have come from Ryu because he wasn't standing in the direction where they came from. Then she saw the same loud blond who was in the ramen place, standing with the Kazekage, Shikamaru, Matsuri, Kiba, the guy in the long coat, and some other snow shinobi, some of them having the silver eyes. Kanjo and Rojikku was there, too. She hadn't seen them for a long time.

"Damnit!" the blond said loudly. "She got away!"

"We probably would have had a better chance of catching her if you let me say my plan." Shikamaru said to Naruto, who immaturely crossed his arms stubbornly.

"We must formulate a plan before she returns," Gaara said.

"I suggest being careful, Lord Kazekage. You're the one she's looking for," Ryu said, walking to Gaara to report everything that happened while Kankuro was removing the icicles.

After seeing if the children were okay, Ryu and Shino gathered the children to take them where the rest of the civilians were.

"Wait," Kankuro said, taking Mimi by her hand as she was following Ryu and Shino. "I'm…sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Mimi asked, confused.

"About what happened earlier," he said.

Mimi had to think for a moment about what he was talking about, and then she remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him. After all of the events that just happened, it completely slipped her mind.

"Oh…yeah, you jerk." Mimi said apathetically.

"You don't care?"

"That's the last thing on my mind right now." Mimi said. "I think I'll let it slide, being that this whole desert is frozen over and I almost died like twice in the past hour."

"I'm sorry. It's my fault you got hurt. If I didn't upset you, you wouldn't have walked off."

"It's not your fault. Who would have predicted any of this craziness was going to happen? And you saved me once again. I think that makes up for it." She said, smiling.

"No I didn't, Ryu did." Kankuro mumbled.

"You did too." Mimi said. "Now stop being so hard on yourself. I thought that was my job."

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" Naruto said to Kankuro noisily, since they were standing some distance away from the others. "Wait 'till everyone back in Konoha hears about this!"

"That's not his girlfriend." Shikamaru said. "Stop jumping into everyone's business."

"Yeah right, then why's he getting all red!" Naruto said to Shikamaru.

"Enough with your nonsense, Naruto." Gaara said sternly. "We have more pressing matters at hand. Kankuro, I need to discuss another important mission."

"Don't get too hurt, okay?" Mimi said to Kankuro as Naruto was asking Gaara about the mission.

"If you promise not to do anything stupid." He told her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Mimi, things could have turned out badly for you today. Throwing snowballs isn't going to save you next time, which was really dumb. You could have just made her angrier."

"Well, what did you expect me to do? Some cool ninjutsu like what everyone else was doing? I had to improvise! There were children with me."

"It's not in your place to do that."

"Fine." Mimi said, crossing her arms.

"Midget," he teased.

"Are you guys done?" Shino asked impatiently, waiting for Mimi. Ryu had already left with all the children.

"Be careful," Mimi said, before walking away with Shino.

"I will."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why do we need him for?" Kankuro asked Gaara, after letting him out of the jail cell and going to a room with a huge mirror.

"No need to be so rude," Kabuto scoffed, readjusting his glasses.

"I have no choice but to have him go with you. He knows where the queen is located, and he's the only one that can be able to communicate with her across dimensions. He might be of help to you while he's there."

"We're dead." Kankuro said, facepalming, not really having much faith in trusting a shinobi whose reputation was being a traitor.

It had been decided that Kankuro would be the one to go into the other dimension, with Kabuto. Gaara trusted that Kankuro would return, even more so than Naruto, who openly expressed that he was scared of "ghosts" at one point. Naruto would do best staying and keeping the queen at bay when she returned. Rojikku and Kanjo would accompany Kankuro and Kabuto. Their experiences left them immune to being scared of what was to come. Gaara knew nothing really scared Kankuro much, and they needed levelheaded shinobi to go on this mission. Kankuro felt this was best. Apart of him felt that shinobi from Konoha were too soft at times, and they couldn't take that chance.

"Remember, he was right about what he told us," Gaara said. "We have no other choice at this point. And he knows medical ninjutsu."

"If he tries anything stupid, I'll gladly show him what the inside of my puppets look like."

"Yeah, it's gonna be three of us against you," Kanjo said, agreeing. "So no funny stuff."

"Okay, let's get going." Rojikku said.

Gaara gave Rojikku the seed satchel, but nothing happened as he tried to toss one seed toward the mirror.

"What's going on?" Rojikku said, ready to accuse Kabuto of lying.

"We have to use the whole bag," Kabuto said to Rojikku, seeing his facial expression. "The goal here isn't to go through different parts of the world. It's to go to another dimension."

"But how will we come back?" Rojikku asked.

"…We have to hope we'll be able to come back on time before the portal closes. Due to its power, it'll be open for a while, but I'm not sure how long."

"Seems grim." Kankuro stated.

"Great, just when I thought we were in the clear about escaping a cursed ship. Now we have to risk getting stuck in a whole_ dimension_ with a bunch of this crap." Kanjo said. "Well, let's get this over with."

Rojikku sighed, taking a handful of the seeds, emptying the satchel. As he threw the seeds against the mirror, a large, dark green portal replaced their reflections.

"Gaara," Kankuro said, turning to his brother.

But Gaara put his hand on his shoulder. "There is no need for last words. I know you will return."

Kankuro nodded. "I hope you're right."

**A/N: What a lengthy chapter. Didn't expect it to end up thirty pages long!**

**Well, while writing this chapter, another story idea came to me. I want to write a story about Shino, but it'll be a bit more lighthearted than this story. Maybe I'll do a prologue or a first chapter before finishing this story, but I'm kind of a completetist and I don't want to get distracted writing another story while trying to finish this one. I also want to write an InoSai story too, with more drama than adventure. What do you guys think? O.O **


	10. Otherworld

**A/N: Next chapter's here!**

"Mimi, you're okay! Where were you?! I was so worried!" Rubi said, rushing to her when she spotted her with a medical nin who was assessing her shoulder wound after Shino dropped her off and left. "Oh no, you got hurt. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Mimi said, not bothering to tell Rubi about the events that just happened. She didn't need to know that she almost got killed. "I just got hit by one of those icicles." That wasn't a complete lie.

"Wow, that sucks. The weather's getting so crazy! I wonder what's going on…"

Mimi shrugged. According to what she just witnessed, they were under attack by some crazy queen. It was kind of scary to think about. Her village had never been infiltrated the time she'd been living there, until Kankuro, Kanjo, and Rojikku came along. The snow shinobi were very good at keeping trouble at bay.

"I wish I knew," Mimi said.

"So…" Rubi said, smiling.

"So what?" Mimi asked, looking at her uncertainly.

"How did it go?"

"How did what go?"

"With dog boy! Come on, don't play stupid. You have to tell me how it went."

This girl can't be serious. "Rubi, there was just a _massive snowstorm_ in this hot ass desert, we're stuck in some crowded shelter with a bunch of other villagers who are probably freaking out right now, and you want to ask me how talking to some guy went? How do you think it went?"

"Hey, no need to get testy. It's not like there's anything we can do about it right now. I'm just trying to make the best out of the situation." Rubi said defensively.

"Are you not scared at all?" Mimi asked.

"A bit, but this has happened before. I remember the time the Kazekage protected us when some bad guy tried to blow up the whole village with some huge bomb that was falling from the sky. After that, I know the Kazekage can handle anything."

"Really? Wow, he must be pretty powerful to be able to do that." Mimi said, not entirely surprised. From what she's known about him, she expected he would be pretty powerful. She guessed risk of infiltration occurred more often down in the south if what Rubi told her was true. And based on the strength of the shinobi, Mimi believed it.

"So, I'm assuming it went badly. That sucks. You guys were getting along so well." Rubi continued.

Mimi sighed, shaking her head. She wasn't going to let it go. "It wasn't him that was the problem."

"Was it the dog?"

"No," Mimi laughed.

"Then what happened?" Rubi prodded, trying to think about what could have happened.

"Rubi, look at where we're at now. Do I really have to explain what happened?"

Rubi took a good look at Mimi, trying to figure her out.

"I bet it has something to do with Kankuro, that's why you don't wanna say anything." Rubi said, bursting out in laughter after she saw the look on her face. "So it did have something to do with him!"

"Why do you keep thinking he's involved in everything?" Mimi said. "I told you we don't even talk."

"What did he do?" She asked enthusiastically, ignoring her comment. Mimi presumed that at this point she knew they still talked anyway.

"You love drama, don't you," Mimi said dully, giving in. "He just walked up to us and he told Kiba that I still wasn't over my ex, which isn't even true anymore. I got mad and walked away, but I'm over it. After all this commotion, I don't even care why he did it. It's not the first time he's done something not so nice so it's not at all surprising. It blows, though. I was about to get asked out on a date."

"Get out, he seriously did that?" Rubi said, laughing. "Oh my God, that's too funny!"

"I don't see anything funny about it. Do you know how embarrassing that was?" Mimi said, sighing. "I don't even wanna think about it."

"And you're not mad at him?" Rubi asked.

"No. We talked it out." Mimi said. "No big deal. Better luck next time. There's more fish in the sea."

"Oh, that's cold blooded, Mimi." Rubi said. "I like it."

"What are you talking—ugh, just forget it." Mimi said, looking around. She wondered how long they were going to have to stay in here. After what happened earlier, she was pretty worried about Kankuro and the others. She wished there was more she could do.

Up ahead, Mimi saw Temari walking around, and started to walk toward Mimi when their eyes locked.

"Hey, is everything alright? What happened to your shoulder?" She asked.

"I just got hit by an icicle. It'll be fine," Mimi said. "How have you been? You seem bothered."

"I'm okay, I just wish things could be different." Temari said eyeing her skeptically. Mimi knew that she could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth. "It's not in my nature to just sit around and wait for something to fix itself. I'm at least doing my best to maintain order in here and prevent everyone from panicking."

"I know you want to help, but I think for now you should just lay low and not stress yourself out."

"I know you're right. I'm just worried."

"We all are." Mimi said empathetically.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sky was red, as if this world was overtaken by a dying sun. Looking around, it looked like they were in a dying, desolate world that had been destroyed long ago by evil forces. The trees looked dead and dreary, with an occasional rustling of dead, dried leaves dancing along the ground when a slow wind would pass. Even the wind blowing seemed lifeless, as if it lost its strength. The dirt on the ground lacked richness, with hints of withering plant life. From the looks of it, it didn't seem like much went on here. It was like they entered a post-apocalyptic planet. It was almost unbelievable that the portal to the world they came from was right behind them, and all it took was one step to enter this barren land.

"Happy place," Kankuro said disdainfully, the dried leaves and grass crunching under his feet as he started to walk.

"It's much quieter than I expected." Rojikku said.

"The Queen must be over there," Kabuto said, pointing at a peak in the distance. There seemed to be a tower that surpassed the peak of the mountain as well. That could be where the Queen is trapped. "We must be careful. There might be dangerous creatures around."

"Let's get going," Kanjo said.

_Kabuto, I can sense your presence in this land. Thank you for choosing to help me. Follow the mountain that you see. Please be careful!_ Kabuto heard in his head.

"You're right," Kabuto said to Kanjo. "We have to hurry."

As they anticipated travelling towards the mountain peak, they entered what was left of what seemed to be woods, filled with black, withered trees that blocked the already dim sky. Eventually the woods got to the point where everything was pitch black, where the little sunlight that was available in this world wasn't able to enter the tree filled lifeless woods.

"You couldn't think of another way to get to this mountain?" Kanjo said to Kabuto. "How on earth are we gonna get there if we can't see anything?"

"There was no other way through," Kabuto said. "We don't have the time to attempt trying to find another route."

"It's alright; I have a solution to this." Rojikku said, using a jutsu to send chakra to his hands, causing them to glow brightly. It was able to give them some visibility of what was ahead of them, which was a barely trekked dirt road, as if it used to be used often at some point long ago.

But as they continued to walk along the narrow, abandoned path, there were sounds in the distance, and low growling. This caused them to walk slowly, Rojikku scanning the environment around him to anticipate the unexpected.

In an instant, the four shinobi were surrounded by giant, wrinkly, hairless beasts, with multiple eyes all over their head, and pincers with green venom pouring out of their mouths. Though severely deformed, their bodies had humanoid characteristics, though hard to see through the worms that were crawling between holes that were on their skin, showing decay.

"What the hell is that?" Kankuro said, before a piercing screech came from one of them, attempting to attack him.

In a moment, a whole group of these creatures tried to attack them from all directions. Rojikku tried his best to keep the light bright enough for everyone to be able to see, but they had to rely on their instincts for the most part. Though they were very strong, they were very slow and easy to dodge. They didn't seem very smart either, and it didn't take long to defeat them. But Kankuro started to feel a searing pain in his left hand. When he looked at it, he saw his skin was torn, and you could see some of his bones through the wound. He must have gotten bitten and didn't notice.

"Oh, that looks bad," Rojikku commented, flashing the light he was making over Kankuro's hand.

"I can treat that," Kabuto said, taking Kankuro's hand.

"Bravo," a voice said, clapping indistinctively within the bushel of dead trees.

"Who said that?" Kankuro said, looking around. "It sounds like you, Kabuto."

"But I'm right here." Kabuto said uneasily, looking around to see where the voice came from.

Walking over the pile of the now dead creatures, appeared a sick looking, emaciated figure…that looked just like Kabuto, instead his skin was coming off in different parts of his body, and you could see his skull on one half of his face. The disturbing part was the fact that his eyeball was still there, moving around eerily.

"It's not often I come across such great skill," he said. It was kind of unsettling to see him talk.

"Who are you?" Kabuto asked.

The man laughed. "Who am I? I am you."

"You're not me," Kabuto said in disgust. "We won't be able to be in the same world."

"Well, of course you would be able to come here with ease. I can't say so much for myself…I mean, look at the state of this place. Look at the state I'm in…a fate so many horrible people suffered. Over time, our will has weakened. We won't survive well in other worlds like you can." He said, laughing. "But don't feel so bad. At least I didn't turn into any of those monsters that you've killed. It means there's some good in you." He teased, walking in front of him.

"Get away from me," Kabuto said earnestly, holding a kunai to his face threateningly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said casually. "It's quite fun to watch all of you suffer. I was hoping to have those flesh eating demons get to you, but I should have known that it would take more to defeat my counterpart and his comrades. How about we play around for a bit?"

In a second there was a ring of purple fire surrounding them, slowly getting smaller, the fire getting more restless, and hotter. Kanjo tried to blow it away with his jutsu, but it resurfaced. Kabuto's counterpart started to laugh hysterically.

"It looks like you guys are going to have a long and gruesome death," he said. "A shame to see you go so quickly. I would have expected a better fight."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Matsuri, stay here and guard the portal. Make sure no one goes through, and prepare for anything that might come back out," Gaara ordered. "I will leave Shino here with you as backup."

Matsuri nodded, Shino joining her next to the green portal.

Going back outside, Gaara saw many buildings destroyed, others crumbled straight to the ground. He saw giant ice pellets knocking down more buildings, and he rushed to the source of the destruction, with the others following him.

Gaara didn't expect to see what he saw. There was a bunch of humanoid…ice people that were causing the destruction. He was going to have to summon more sand shinobi to deal with this.

"We have to find the source of where this is coming from," one of the snow shinobi said.

"It's some kind of weird jutsu, kind of like Naruto's," Kiba commented. "But we can get rid of these things, right Akamaru?"

"Wait, that's it," Shikamaru said, Gaara understanding his idea.

"Naruto, use your shadow clones. We'll try to find the queen. She has to be around here somewhere." Gaara said.

"I think you should stay with Naruto," Shikamaru said to Gaara.

"And why is that?" Gaara asked. "It is my job to get to the bottom of this."

"Yes, but we have to find a way to subdue her first," Shikamaru explained. "She's trying to look for you. This could be a ply for your attention. We don't know what she has up her sleeve. We're going to have to keep you away to play it safe. Since the sand is frozen, all you have is the sand in your gourd to defend yourself. If we jump into this, it could turn out badly. We can leave you with Naruto and some snow shinobi so you won't be left alone while we try to find her."

Gaara nodded, agreeing with Shikamaru. One of the silver eyed snow shinobi looked around, trying to sense where the source was coming from. He then pointed East, saying something.

"He said he can see her form," one of the other snow shinobi translated.

"How does he know?" Shikamaru asked.

"Their eyes. They can see temperature, and can be able to detect different forms of snow easily. Let's follow him," the snow shinobi replied, walking behind his comrade with the kekkei genkai.

Eventually, they saw the queen standing in the distance. As she saw them approaching, she made an array of large icicles. Before Shikamaru could think about what to plan next, the snow shinobi that were with them with the kekkei genkai were able to make a wall of ice to stop the attack, which then continued to subdue the icicles, rendering them useless. The snow shinobi then trapped the queen in a cube of ice with a wave of his hand. Shikamaru took the opportunity to restrain her with his shadows just in case she tried to run away, secretly appreciating having these guys on their side.

The queen was easily able to break out of the ice, shards shattering in all directions, and though she had some ability to fight off Shikamaru's shadow jutsu, her movements were still heavily restricted.

"I know where your villagers are hidden." The queen said in a broken southern dialect. "I will not hesitate to shatter the shelter they are hiding in," she threatened, raising her now healed hand to a durable building in the distance.

"That is not necessary," Shikamaru heard Gaara say from behind him, Naruto standing in front of him in a fighting stance, with an army of sand shinobi ready for battle behind Gaara. "There is no need to put my people in harm's way. You have not informed me what you want."

"Ah, so you are the leader," the queen said, putting her hands in his direction, glowing blue. "If this is the village that was able to set me free, then your residents must be highly qualified to work for me. You can either surrender the easy way or the hard way. Join me or die."

"You gotta be crazy if you think we're gonna give in that easily, blue lady," Naruto said angrily. "You don't know who you're messing with."

Gaara's sand lingered out of his gourd, ready for a fight. He may not be able to use as much sand as he wanted, but that didn't threaten him in the least.

The queen, agitated, fought herself out of the jutsu that was restraining her, tossing a huge boulder of ice towards Shikamaru.

"You're a nuisance," she said to him. "Don't try to stun me with your tricks."

Before the boulder could hit him, a shield of sand blocked the large boulder from hitting him, and it fell limply to the ground in front of him. This lady was extremely troublesome, but he had a feeling they had to be really careful with her. Not many people can fight off his shadow jutsu with such ease. She was holding back. He saw the queen rush towards Gaara with inhuman speed. He knew she was going to be too fast to try and catch her in his shadow again. But Naruto was still standing in front of Gaara. Surely he would be able to stop her.

But before she was able to get any closer, two tornadoes dashed at her, throwing her on her back, sliding into a building, causing the walls to crumble. Kiba and Akamaru were able to push her away with their fang over fang technique.

"You are outnumbered," Gaara said to her, crossing his arms. "There is a whole army behind me. Your efforts to overpower the village are futile."

The queen got up, teleporting in front of Gaara, but she found she wasn't able to move again. The boulder she threw at Shikamaru provided him with a very convenient shadow, and Shikamaru attempted to suffocate her with the shadows. But even with the added effort, the queen fought even harder to escape his jutsu, backslapping him roughly. He flew a couple of feet, landing roughly on his back on the frozen ground.

"You're nothing but an annoyance," She said to him, tossing daggers of ice, but Kiba was able to push him out the way on time.

Before Naruto was going to attack, the queen trapped him in a cage of ice, leaving Gaara open.

"I see you want to do this the hard way," The queen said, standing in front of the expressionless Kazekage. "I'm done playing games with you and your comrades."

"Based on your actions toward my village, you are not somebody I want to waste my time negotiating with." Gaara said, burying her in his sand.

"G-get me out of this!" The queen struggled to say, getting crushed by the pressure of the sand.

Gaara ignored her request, attempting to crush her quickly, but she was starting to fight back, resisting the increasing pressure.

"You are quite the challenge. I can see why you would be the leader of this village," the queen said. "But I will _not_ be defeated that easily. Do you really think I'm that weak? I'm determined to destroy this world, just like mine was taken from me!"

Breaking away from Gaara's sand, the queen grew, and grew, and grew. Her skin turned a scaly white, her arms and legs turning into large, scaly legs with long claws. She grew a long tail, and her face changed, eliminating any evidence that the monster towering over them was a woman beforehand.

"It's a dragon," one of the sand shinobi said.

The white dragon roared loudly, using its tail to hit the building that all the villagers were sheltered in. There were loud screams as some of the villagers got tossed in the air with the large rubble.

"Attack!" One of the sand shinobi yelled, and the whole army threw various weapons, trying to weaken the dragon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The purple ring of fire kept closing in on them, but Kankuro realized it didn't affect his strings of chakra. Using that to his advantage, he was able to attack Kabuto's counterpart from a distance, causing the flames to wane. Poisoning him, the counterpart fell to the ground, the dying skin that was left of him starting to decay more.

Kabuto took the opportunity to attack his counterpart, preferring to take him out of his torture...and also because he didn't want to stay around to see himself disintegrate like a corpse. His eye sockets emptied into soulless holes, but before he took his last breath, he looked straight at Kabuto, laughing.

"This is all for naught," he said self-righteously. "The Creator has abandoned us…" And his smug smile faded, an empty shell of a body being left behind. Eventually, all the fallen bodies disappeared into dust as the wind blew. It left a very eerie feeling in the air.

As the four shinobi walked on, none of them could shake the eerie feeling that even though it seemed vacant for miles, there was an uncanny feeling of them being watched. There were even moments where they felt someone breathing down their necks, but the breath was cold and shallow, and when they turned around, nothing was there. There were noises, like laughing children, which were loud enough to be audible, but faint enough for you to question if it was your mind playing tricks on you. Eventually, it turned into manifestations of shadows they would see in the corner of their eyes, as the fading sun slowly started to sneak back into the woods again.

As they tried to focus on their goal, it was like the woods, or whatever was trying to play tricks on them, did not give up. It seemed to be taunting them, but Rojikku and Kanjo seemed undisturbed. Kabuto put all his effort to remain stoic and keep going, and Kankuro was just annoyed.

Then they saw something standing in the road some distance straight ahead. It was a short figure, and it stood still. Ultimately, the figure started taking slow, slight steps toward them, and as it got closer, they got to see that it was a young, pale boy, who was in a giant, baggy shirt, looking heavily malnourished. He started to walk faster toward them, and Kabuto and Kankuro got uneasy. The boy was walking abnormally, as if he were possessed by something.

He kept walking faster, until he got less than a few feet away from them, then he stopped abruptly. As he looked up at them, they noticed that the boy had no eyes in his eye sockets.

"Please give me something to eat, I'm hungry." He said robotically, putting his arm out.

None of them moved. They knew he was not a boy. Ever since they saw him in the distance, they got a weird feeling that this was something evil, like the boy was a part of the aura of the whole forest itself, as if the forest they were walking in had its own sentience.

The boy put his arm down limply, after noticing that he wasn't going to be given anything. He stood there awkwardly for a minute, looking at the four of them.

"You should offer a payment for trespassing here," he said in a voice that made them apprehensive, and he instantaneously ended up less than an inch in front of them, his mouth opening like a gaping black hole, screeching, as if bringing the whole forest alive and aware. The dead trees in the forest started moving and convulsing, its roots moving toward them. They tried to run, but the roots of the tree had them grounded in one area, growing upwards, attempting to pull them into the ground. But in a flash, the forest was back to normal, as if nothing happened.

"It's trying to mess with our heads," Rojikku said. "Let's keep going."

The hallucinations slowly diminished as they ignored them, and soon after the trees started to become sparse. They ended up getting to the end of the forest, and now entered a wasteland roaming with monsters. Some of them tried to throw explosives at them, others tried to swallow their weapons whole. And then there were others that threw poison and fireballs. Between the four of them, they were able to fight them off as long as they didn't attract too much attention to themselves. They saw the mountain slowly getting bigger up ahead, and they knew they would be able to reach the mountain pretty soon.

But Kabuto couldn't help but think back to what he saw in the forest. He couldn't shake the fact that his counterpart looked that way in this world. What was this place anyway? A parallel universe? What did that really show about him? Was he really that far gone? And what about the other three? Where were their counterparts? But it confused him. Maybe it was just the forest messing with his head. Was he the most vulnerable out of the four of them? Rojikku and Kanjo didn't seem intimidated by anything in the least in this world. And Kankuro seemed less bothrered than he did. It wouldn't surprise him if he found out the siblings had no hearts. They remained stoic when it came to a lot of things, the Kazekage more than the other two. Then again, none of them saw a deformed, twisted version of themselves. He couldn't help but wonder if it actually meant anything.

Lost in his thoughts, Kabuto didn't notice when they started to approach the foot of the mountain. Looking up, they saw a structure at the peak. That must be where the queen is located. They were able to ascend the mountain easily using the simple climbing technique, but upon entering the castle, there were three huge doors, one on each wall. They were all locked, but the door standing in front of them was the only one with a giant keyhole. They tried attacking the doors and picking the locks, but none of them would budge.

"I'm climbing the castle to the top of the tower," Kanjo said. "We don't have time for this shit."

"Don't be foolish." Kankuro said. "That's a deathwish."

"Being in this whole damn dimension is a deathwish." Kanjo said. "It wouldn't matter much."

"Kankuro is right," Rojikku interjected. "We can't guarantee that the queen will be at the top of the tower. We don't know her location in this castle. We need to think this through logically. From the way it looks, we're going to have to work with the way the castle is. We can't break through the walls or any of the doors, indicating that there is probably some type of otherworldly chakra that's inhibiting us. But it seems as if there are clues to get us through."

"Like a puzzle," Kabuto said, looking around. "Look, there are four statues up ahead. One of them is out of place."

Kankuro pushed the heavy statue next to the other three, and it descended slightly into the ground. The tile under the statue was like a giant button, opening two doors on the side walls, the one with the giant keyhole staying locked shut. Rojikku and Kanjo went through one door, while Kankuro and Kabuto went through the other one.

Once Kankuro and Kabuto entered the room, the door slammed loudly behind them, locking them inside. They immediately started getting bombarded with a huge army of hairy, one-eyed monsters that threw spikes in all directions. Luckily for Kankuro, he defeated them easily, Kabuto helping. But then they felt the whole room shaking.

A huge part of the ceiling caved in, causing a giant, gaping hole to form above them. A giant one eyed monster that almost touched the tall ceiling in height landed on the ground through the hole, shaking the floor beneath them, causing them to lose their footing. It looked around with its big eye, blinking stupidly when it saw Kabuto and Kankuro. Sensing them as a threat, it puffed up its round body, its fur raising, showing giant spikes with fire at the tips. They spent a good amount of time running and dodging its attacks, trying to figure out how to defeat it since it seemed to be impermeable to their attacks.

"It has to have a weak spot," Kankuro said, dodging an onslaught of deadly spikes.

"You're right," Kabuto said. "There's small shiny thing at the top of its eye."

"I'll aim for it," Kankuro said, using a puppet to aim at the spot.

As expected, the monster let out a cry in pain as Kankuro hit it. At first, it seemed to infuriate the monster, but they noticed it had more trouble attacking the more they hit it at its weak spot. Eventually, the monster caved, solidifying into a rocky substance, and then crumbling into a pile of dust on the ground. The only thing left was whatever was shining on its head, and a giant key. Kabuto took the key, and Kankuro kneeled down to pick up a small green jewel. It looked like a piece of broken glass.

_Don't touch that jewel. It is dangerous!_ Kabuto heard a voice say in his head. _I am trapped in one. You are close to finding me. Continue on to the next room._

"Leave it there. We have no idea what it can do," Kabuto said. "Let's go."

Kankuro put it down, surprised that Kabuto would leave it alone. If it was on the monster, it had to be potentially powerful, and was something he would normally be interested in. But Kabuto's been acting weird since they left that forest.

The door reopened, and they were able to return to the room they were in before. Rojikku and Kanjo were waiting for them.

"Are you guys alright? What was going on in there?" Rojikku asked.

"There was a monster. We were locked in until we were able to defeat it." Kankuro said.

"That blows. We just had to figure out some complicated puzzle. I let Rojikku figure it out." Kanjo said. "We managed to get this key, but it's not able to open the door. Kabuto, can you heal my finger? I got a small cut."

"You're going to make him waste his energy over a small cut?" Rojikku asked. "You're being ludicrous."

"The key we have must be the one to open it, then," Kabuto said ignoring Kanjo's stupid request, putting the giant key in the lock.

The door clicked, opening.

"I wonder what this key is for," Kanjo said, looking at the key he was holding.

"It's probably a key to something else in this castle." Rojikku said, walking through the unlocked door.

"Look, there's a box with a keyhole up ahead," Kankuro said, walking toward it, following Rojikku.

Kanjo rushed to the box, using the key to unlock it. Inside was a map.

"Not this shit again," Kanjo said in frustration.

"At least this one's comprehensible," Rojikku said, looking at the map inquisitively. "It looks like it'll be one of the rooms in this castle."

"But there are no other rooms to enter from this point on," Kankuro said.

But the floor started to ascend, and it brought them to another floor above them, since this room had an unnaturally high ceiling. Up ahead was a maze, which had constantly changing walls. Looking down at the map, Rojikku noticed that the map would change depending on how the walls would change.

"We need to be careful not to get separated. We could end up getting lost easily." Kabuto said, as he looked over to see the map.

The others agreed, making sure to stay near so they won't get separated once the walls decided to change unexpectedly. When this happened, it was almost as if starting over, since they had to reroute their path, but they were finally able to get to the end of the maze. At the end of the maze stood a large, intimidating door. It opened on its own once the four shinobi exited the maze. Kabuto felt the queen's presence on the other side of the door. As Kankuro and Kabuto walked through, the door immediately slammed shut again, locking Kanjo and Rojikku outside. Based on what happened earlier, the both of them didn't take that as a very good sign.

Up ahead, there was a large, green jewel floating. Kabuto noticed the queen was inside, eyes closed, as if frozen in time, and unconscious. Before he attempted to rush to the jewel, a giant eagle flew in front of them, blocking them in the way of the trapped queen. The gust of wind threw them back as it spread its large wings, flying around the huge room. It aimed itself at Kabuto, grabbing him with its huge talons. Kabuto tried to fight him off, but it ascended at a high altitude, dropping him. Kankuro caught him using his chakra strings, bringing him to safety before he plummeted to the ground.

The large eagle continued to make strong winds, making it hard for them to attack the eagle. The eagle then swooped downward to try and catch Kankuro, but he dodged it, predicting his moves from what he had done before.

"There's a jewel on his head, too," Kabuto pointed out after getting a good glimpse of its face as it missed.

"How are we going to be able to aim at that one?" Kankuro said. "It keeps flying around everywhere. It's way too fast."

"We're going to have to attack it head on," Kabuto said. "I'll be able to reach it with your help."

"That's risky," Kankuro told him.

"I know," Kabuto said, looking up at the angry eagle. "But we have to do it."

The eagle started to dive down at them again, and Kabuto took the opportunity to reach up to the eagle as high as possible with Kankuro's help. If anything went wrong, he would probably get torn in half by its strong beak, but he didn't have a choice. He already made it this far. He had to do this.

Waiting for the right moment, Kabuto prepared a chakra scalpel strike. If he hit it with exactitude, the jewel should shatter. But the chances of it were slim.

The bird got closer, and Kabuto focused on the middle of its forehead. If he missed, this would all be in vain. And when the moment came, it was like time went in slow motion as he striked the bird.

Kabuto felt himself being shoved in the air as the bird bumped into him, and he thought he missed. He thought this was it. But he felt himself get gently put down on his feet. He stood, rubbing his arm where the eagle had shoved him roughly. There was no sign of serious injury. As much of a relief as that was, he looked up towards the high ceiling of this room in the castle to see if he missed.

The eagle's movements got slower, and eventually it spiraled to the ground, weakened heavily as the jewel shattered into smithereens, almost as if it were evaporating from existence. To Kabuto's and Kankuro's surprise, though, the large eagle did not turn into a pile of dust like the last monster they were put to fight. Instead, it…_talked_ to them. But its beak wasn't moving. It was communicating to them telepathically.

_I thank you for freeing me from my imprisonment._ The big bird said to them._ I apologize for my aggression. The Queen of this land, Queen Oyko, had attached the jewel to me before she left to a parallel universe, to be able to stop anyone who tried to save the queen that she switched places with. These jewels hold tremendous power in them, and were heavily sought out for in our world. But not many can be able to control the power it granted them. Regardless, it still caused greed, corruption, and war. Eventually, our ancestors from the stars had had enough of our behavior, and came down to collect all the residents of this planet who were not swayed by greed and power, and took them to another planet to start a new life, for this planet was dying as a result from all the wars. The rest of the residents who were corrupt were left on this planet to die with it when the time comes, and they turned into what their hearts represented. Queen Oyko…she wasn't ready to start a new life on another planet. She couldn't let go of the beauty that her land used to have, and refused to leave. I told our star brothers that I will choose to stay with her, and try to convince her otherwise, but to no avail. After they left us behind, she had gotten resentful, and used magic to take her to a time where she would get a second chance to rule once again in a similar world. At this point, she wanted revenge, and found her counterpart, switching places with her as she took advantage of her naiveté. She was angry, and assured that if her own world can't survive, then she will cause misery and destroy all others that she was to come across. But the time has come. Hopefully, when you return your queen back to your world, she will decide to finally come with me to the new planet that awaits us, and repent her actions._

"It doesn't seem like she's gonna repent anytime soon from the looks of it," Kankuro commented, remembering the fight he had with her.

_I have faith in her._ The eagle said.

Kankuro nodded. He could empathize with the bird. He himself had faith in someone who was thought to be far gone from any form of morality, and it turned out well. He was very proud of what Gaara has become. But from an outside perspective, it was very hard to believe.

The eagle looked at the large jewel with the sleeping queen inside, and they saw that the giant jewel started to crack, the pieces eventually crashing to the ground like a broken mirror. A soft, glowing light surrounded the beautiful Queen Hokkyo, her eyes opening as it faded away, her feet touching the ground.

"Thank you for saving me, Kabuto," Queen Hokkyo said to him. "I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you or your comrades. I have learned from my mistakes in dabbling in something I was not prepared for. I have put our own world in danger, but now is the time for all this to end. We must return to the portal and hurry back."

_I sense the portal may be closing. I will fly all of you. You will not make it back on time on foot._ The eagle said, or thought, to be exact.

The door to the chamber reopened, Kanjo and Rojikku running inside.

"What happened?" Rojikku asked, looking at the giant bird standing majestically before him, confused.

"Let's go, we have the Queen." Kabuto said, helping the queen sit on the eagle's back, following suit after helping her. "The bird will be flying us back. He said the portal might be closing soon."

"How do we know to trust him?" Kanjo asked.

_I have my own motives in helping you. I would like my queen to return where she belongs. She has no place in your world._

"Did he just talk to me in my head?" Kanjo asked.

"We don't have much time," Queen Hokkyo said. "We must go."

Kankuro was still trying to process all the eagle had said…and trying to process that this giant bird was even communicating with him through thoughts. In reality, he felt it as an invasion of his privacy. He would much prefer people don't intrude in his head. And in this parallel universe, magic was rampant, but the world is almost dead as well. He started to wonder if his counterpart had left to the other planet. What about Gaara's? Or Temari's? Kabuto's had stood, but he didn't lose himself like the humanoid monsters did. That must have meant something. It was actually pretty sad to see the world in this state. Had things gone differently, his world could have suffered the same fate. They've had pretty close calls in the past.

"Come on!" Kanjo said to Kankuro. "Unless you wanna stay here."

"I'm coming," he said, placing himself on the large bird.

The ceiling was high, and the bird ascended through a large opening at the top. It appeared that this castle had many floors, but they were destroyed and in disarray. They ended up surfing through the red sky, and looking down at the land below them was really a wakeup call of how destroyed this world was. There wasn't a sign of plant life. Everything was dead and dry, sucked out and wrinkled like a prune. It was as if the life force of this planet was disappearing.

"I think I'm gonna be airsick," Rojikku said as the eagle quickly soared through the dim skies.

"You better not," Kanjo said threateningly.

As they landed in front of the shrinking portal, the eagle looked up in the sky in anticipation.

_They are coming,_ the eagle said to them._ They have returned for us. They too have faith that the queen will change. The people need her leadership._

Looking up, Kankuro saw a bright light appear in the sky. It got bigger, and as it descended to the ground, he saw that it was some type of huge airship as the lights turned off. It made no sound, and no one seemed to exit the ship. Of course, their visit wasn't for them. It was for that evil queen.

"Thank you for your help," Queen Hokkyo said as everyone got off of the eagle.

The eagle started to glow, and turned into a man standing before them.

"Captain," Kanjo and Rojikku said at the same time. It looked just like the captain they had encountered in their journey, but he had light blue hair instead.

"I'm not the captain that you think I am," the man said to them, no need for telepathy in his human form.

"You're the counterpart of him in this universe," Rojikku said to him.

He nodded. "You must all go, the portal is about to close. Unfortunately, we won't see each other after this, and I think that is best. There is no need to mingle between parallel universes. It is dangerous and messes up the multiversal balance."

"How do you know we won't see each other anymore?" Kanjo asked.

"The satchel of seeds you used to get here were the last of the seeds. They did not originate in your world. They originated in this one and many magicians would travel and trade between parallel universes over the centuries. As this world descended into chaos, the seeds got more and more scarce. There are none left. I wish you luck in your future endeavors."

"I wish you luck in yours," Kabuto said, then looking at the queen. "You first."

The queen bid goodbye to what used to be the giant eagle, taking one last look at the odd ship, and the world she was stuck in for so many years, and walked towards the quickly shrinking portal which was getting ready to close.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh, God, hide me," Mimi said to Temari, standing behind her, taking advantage of her height.

"Why?" Temari said a bit annoyed. She didn't like seeing acts of cowardice.

"There's Shimo-sama over there. I don't want her to see me."

"Why not?"

"Because I got a little rude the last time we spoke. And she thinks I'm crazy."

"Stop being a wimp. So what if she sees you? If she has something to say, take that as an opportunity to talk it out," Temari said, putting Mimi to sit down next to Rubi, who was now talking with Sutera, a coworker from their job.

"Come on Temari! I helped you out when you wanted to hide from your brothers!" Mimi exclaimed.

"And look how that turned out," Temari said flatly. "My fiancé ended up with a black eye. I think I learned my lesson."

Mimi groaned. She had a point. It never helped to run away from your problems. They just ended up sneaking up on you again, with a huger issue than if you would have just faced it when it was needed.

"Himitsu," Mimi heard a familiar voice say. Damn, she saw her.

"Hello, Shimo-sama…" Mimi said, looking up at her.

"Come with me, I want to speak with you."

Mimi reluctantly got up, and they walked to a slightly less packed part of the shelter they were in.

"I want to apologize for how I've been acting, Shimo-sama." Mimi started to say. "Maybe you're right. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I just think that I need some time on my own to figure myself out. I do appreciate your concern."

"That's not what I wanted to speak to you about," Shimo-sama stated. "I've come to understand that I can lead a horse to water, but I can't make them drink it. The most I can do is hope that you remain safe and make wiser decisions in the future."

"What did you want to speak to me about, then?" Mimi asked.

"I wanted to say that…sometimes things never turn out the way one expects. What turned out to be animosity between two villages has turned into comradeship. I plan to take the opportunity to become allies with this village if they are successful in having our queen return. It would be a good way for our village to be less isolated from outsiders, and may also be beneficial for our bank, and hopefully avoid any infiltrations from stronger villages."

"That's great, Shimo-sama," Mimi stated. But why was she telling her this?

"If this turns out well, you might be able to stay here," Shimo-sama stated, as if knowing what she was thinking. "And I will welcome you back to the village freely, in hopes that you won't do anything like this again. I can see that you meant no harm, but I hope you will be more mindful of the welfare of others next time you are troubled. You can always come to me if something is bothering you."

"Oh, well, thank you," Mimi said. "I don't think I should come to you for my…silly problems, though."

"I live for my villagers, Himitsu. I don't think any of your issues are silly."

Mimi nodded. Before she could reply, there was a huge crash, the walls crumbling. There were screams everywhere.

"Shimo-sama, hide!" Mimi said, pushing her to a corner that was unscathed.

Before Mimi was able to find a place to stay safe, a huge, white scaly thing swiped through the whole place, tossing people everywhere. What was that?

All Mimi could remember was the white thing hitting her and a couple of others, and they all crashed through the wall, soaring in the air before hitting the ground.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wake up, wake up!" Mimi heard someone say tearfully as she was being shaken.

It took a couple of seconds for Mimi's eyesight to sharpen, as everything was blurry. She sat up, shaking her head, looking around.

"Are you okay?" Mimi heard. Looking at the person who said it, she saw it was Rubi.

"What just happened?" Mimi said. She saw she was sitting outside on the snow, with a couple of other villagers she didn't recognize surrounding her.

"We all got hit by the tail of that thing!" An old male villager said, pointing at the white dragon that was now flying over the sky, trying to freeze everything in sight with ice coming from its mouth.

"Holy crap," Mimi said, looking up in the sky. Not too far from the dragon, was the Kazekage, standing on a patch of sand in the sky that he had in his gourd. There seemed to be others standing on the sand too.

"Is everyone alright?" Rubi said.

"Yeah, but I don't think we should stay outside," a blonde villager with bright blue eyes said. It was Sutera.

"Where are we going to go?" An old woman asked.

"Look, that building over there is unscathed." Mimi said, looking ahead. "We can stay there for now."

They all rushed to the building quickly, scared that they were going to freeze to death from the dragon's ice breath. Rubi opened one of the doors inside the building, barging in the first room she came across. To their surprise, there were two people already there.

"What are you guys doing here?" Matsuri asked them. "You were supposed to stay in the shelter!"

"Ease up, lady, we got tossed out the shelter by some monster's tail and landed on some snow nearby." An adult male villager that was with them told her. "We were just trying to find a place to stay until the Kazekage takes care of that dragon that's flying outside."

"There's a dragon outside?" Shino asked. "That's not something I would have expected."

"I know the Kazekage can handle this," Matsuri said. Even though Mimi agreed with her, she could see the worry on her face.

"It would be safer if you just stay in this room with us for now," Shino said to the villagers. "Just stay away from this mirror."

"Why does it have a green circle in it?" Sutera asked.

"That is none of your concern," Shino said matter-of-factly.

"It's getting smaller," Matsuri said, looking at Shino.

"There's still time. Nothing is set in stone yet." Shino assured Matsuri.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Taking the battle into the air, Gaara stood with Naruto and Kiba on his sand, facing the white beast before them. Many sand shinobi were throwing weapons from below, and though it was enough to stun the dragon, it was no match for defeating it. It turned into a long battle of dodging and offensive attacks that didn't seem to hurt the dragon at all. The dragon soon started to get the upper hand, managing to hit Kiba, tossing him off of Gaara's sand. Gaara was able to catch him, but he had been knocked out. Gaara put Kiba down on the ground, Akamaru taking him to safety.

Gaara aimed a dagger of sand at the dragon's chest, and it cringed as it hit her.

"Hey look, there's something on its chest. I'm gonna hit it," Naruto said.

Naruto made a bunch of clones, using rasengans to attack surrounding the dragon, but the dragon was able to fight the clones off. However, this was just a distraction, as Naruto took the opportunity to throw a rasenshuriken at the dragon's chest.

Gaara caught Naruto, safetly bringing him back to where he was located. The item on the dragon's chest shattered, and it transformed back into a woman, who plummeted straight to the ground.

Walking to where the woman was located, they saw her on her knees, sobbing.

"This shouldn't have happened…all my power, gone." Queen Oyko said, disappointed, glaring up at Gaara and Naruto as they approached her. "It's not fair. Why do you get to keep your land?! Why did I have to suffer and lose mine! Everyone left me to live in some other planet. And now my world is going to rot…you will never know what it's like. You're lucky," she said, devastated.

"You think we don't know what it's like to risk losing all we have?!" Naruto said angrily, showing her his bandaged arm. "This is only one sign of what I had to go through to make sure life as we know it didn't end. Our moon threatened to crash into our world, destroying the rest of us. But we've won as many battles as we've lost. And you know what we did when we lost? We didn't stop believing. We didn't give up just because something didn't go our way. So many of my friends died in battle. I grew up not knowing who my parents were. No one liked me. I know what it's like to not have anything, but that didn't make me stop believing, and it doesn't help to take your anger out on others!"

The Queen stared at Naruto, speechless.

"I used to be like you." Gaara said, walking to her. "The way you're channeling your anger will only make you feel emptier. You say your people left to another planet as your current one has been in disrepair. You are their leader, but as a leader, your role is to serve their needs, not yours. A new beginning is what they wanted. They need you, and you should return to them. I assure you choosing a new beginning was as hard a decision for them as it was for you. But you have to think of the greater good of the people who chose you as their queen. Sometimes, you have to accept letting go and starting a new chapter of your life. No one said it would be easy."

The Queen stood up slowly.

"…But how will they ever forgive me for abandoning them?"

"It is your job to earn their respect and have them gain trust in you. I say it from experience." Gaara said to her.

There was a calm silence, and then Queen Oyko spoke.

"I'm sorry. I will fix everything," she said as she noticed she started to fade. "It seems my counterpart has been successful. Thank you. I won't forget this."

Once she disappeared, there was a flash of light, and Suna was back to normal, filled with sand instead of snow, most of its buildings repaired, as if nothing had happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The portal is about to close," Matsuri said. It started to dawn on her that if this portal closed, she would never see them again. She knew Gaara would be devastated if Kankuro didn't return.

But just as Matsuri started to worry, she saw someone come through the portal, and a flash of light surrounded everything for a quick moment right when she entered the room. Matsuri noticed the drop in temperature disappeared. It wasn't cold anymore. A second later, Kabuto followed.

"Who are you?" Matsuri asked the queen, holding her johyo.

"She is Queen Hokkyo. There is no threat here." Kabuto said.

"Where are the others?" Shino asked.

"They should be coming now."

"Are these guys just seriously walking out the mirror?" Rubi mumbled to Mimi.

This time, Mimi had to agree with Rubi's commentary. Some things were just plain odd.

"Makes you wonder what kind of trippy stuff the Kazekage has to go through behind closed doors." Sutera chimed in.

After Kabuto came through the portal, Rojikku and Kanjo came through the mirror, followed by Kankuro. By the time they all returned, the portal closed right afterward.

"What are they doing here?" Rojikku asked, looking at the villagers at the opposite end of the room.

"The dragon had destroyed part of the shelter, and they got tossed out. They ran in here for safety." Shino said.

"Just our luck," the old man said grumpily. "Surprised my back didn't give out from that damned dragon."

"There was a dragon?" Kanjo asked.

"That's what they're saying, but it seems like things have calmed down." Matsuri said.

The door to the room opened, Gaara and Naruto walking inside.

"It seems our mission has been a success." Gaara said, not surprised to see Queen Hokkyo and the four shinobi standing before them. "We have some things to take care of. What are these civilians doing here?"

"I hate repeating myself," Shino mumbled, before explaining the situation once again.

"Matsuri, take these villagers to see a medical nin for assessment. I will look for your village elder." Gaara said to Queen Hokkyo.

"Shimo-sama is here?" Queen Hokkyo asked. "She must be so disappointed in me."

"Come with me. We will discuss this somewhere else."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After assuring the safety of the civilians and much discussion between the residents of the Land of Snow and the Kazekage, Shimo-sama, Queen Hokkyo, and the snow shinobi were standing at the gate, ready to leave Suna as allies.

"Thank you so much for your help. We will be forever grateful for your service." Queen Hokkyo said to Gaara. "The curse has finally lifted, and hopefully my land will have a more promising future. We will be more than willing to assist you if you ever need anything."

Gaara nodded.

"I admit I was skeptical of you at first, Lord Kazekage," Shimo-sama said. "But you run your village very well. I'm happy that I've finally gotten the real Queen back. We couldn't have done this without you."

"I'm glad to hear that, Shimo-sama. I look forward to our comradeship in the near future." Gaara said.

"And what of you, Kabuto? Are you going to come with us?" Queen Hokkyo asked.

Kabuto nodded and turned to Orochimaru, who had manifested in his full form again after the scrolls disappeared when Queen Oyko returned to her dimension. He had initially been on watch by Suna's ANBU when he reappeared, but it was noted that he was still heavily weakened, and had no motivations or interest in infiltrating the village, and now was currently being escorted out with Kabuto.

Kabuto requested to speak to Orochimaru personally for a moment, and Gaara approved…with one ANBU listening in on their conversation. He reminded himself to inform the Hokage about this.

"Lord Orochimaru, I have some personal issues to take care of. I won't be leaving the village with you."

"I see. I didn't expect us to part ways so suddenly." Orochimaru said, snickering. "But I suppose I saw this coming one day."

His dismissive response didn't surprise him. "Well, it is quite a relief that you're not upset."

"I have no reason to be upset. You've given me what I've needed." Orochimaru said, walking toward the group near the gates of Suna again, indicating their conversation was over. But he turned to say one more thing. "And you will return to me. You always do. I expect we will cross paths again one day."

Kabuto smirked. "Maybe."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Days later, Mimi did what she could to go back to her normal life, despite the parts of the village still being damaged because of what happened.

"I'm so glad things are back to normal, for the most part." Rubi said to Mimi, the both of them sitting on the roof of Rubi's building. "I told you the Kazekage could handle this."

"Yeah, but I think we should go back downstairs. The sun is beaming and I forgot my sunblock." Mimi said.

"Let's stay for a couple of more minutes," Sutera said. "I want to appreciate the sunlight we weren't getting when it was getting colder. I don't know how you lived like that in the Land of Snow, Mimi. I don't think I'd ever be able to do it."

Mimi shrugged.

"So, do you guys have any plans? We should all have a relaxing day in the bathhouse." Rubi said.

"That sounds like a great idea," Mimi said.

"I have a date later, but we can go early. I can freshen up and exfoliate." Sutera said.

"With who? The janitor?" Mimi asked, half joking.

"Ew, no! That guy's a creep. You know the guy that was with us when we were in that room with the mirror?"

"Oh, him. He's okay looking," Rubi commented.

"Yeah, him. Well, we started talking and he asked me out."

"He seems like a douche, to be honest." Mimi said. "I don't like the way he talked to Matsuri."

"Don't listen to Mimi," Rubi said. "She has no luck with men."

"Hey! That's not true!" Mimi said. "Well…maybe a bit."

"Like, oh my God! You should totally get your nails done for the date!" The three girls heard someone say in a fake female voice.

All the girls jumped, unaware that someone else was listening.

"Ryu! Don't scare us like that! We didn't see you!" Mimi said.

"And stop listening in on our conversations!" Rubi said. "What are you doing up here anyway?"

"I should be asking the three of you that." Ryu said. "You're not supposed to be up on the roof of these buildings."

"I live here, what's the big deal?" Rubi said. "You're the one that's trespassing."

"It's a safety hazard." Ryu said. "And I'm not 'trespassing.' I was assigned to do rounds on the village to search for anything out of the ordinary and to see which buildings still need repairs."

"You should stop by later when you're done." Rubi suggested.

"For what? So I could try on makeup and talk about the cute guy I met in the market last Tuesday?"

This got laughs out of Sutera and Mimi.

"Hey, stop fooling around. We're far from done." Kankuro said to Ryu, jumping from another building nearby.

"I'm not fooling around. Charming the ladies is an everyday mission." Ryu said in mock seriousness.

Mimi could barely see the look on Kankuro's face since he was wearing a long hooded cloak, but she supposed it wasn't amusement. For some reason, this made the three girls laugh harder.

"I'm gonna beat the crap outta this guy," Kankuro mumbled. "Let's go."

"Oooh, do I hear a challenge?"

"Yeah, whatever," Kankuro said indifferently.

Mimi could have sworn she saw rainbows in the background as Ryu's gray eyes grew big out of endearment.

"Y-you accept to challenge me?" Ryu said, eyes watering dramatically, hugging him before he answered his question. "He finally sees me as an equal!" Ryu said vividly, tears running down his face.

"Alright already! Get off of me!" Kankuro couldn't believe someone could act so stupidly.

Kankuro heard Mimi laughing hysterically again as he pushed Ryu off of him. He's never heard her laugh like that. He found it so cute.

"Why don't you accept me?!" Ryu said theatrically.

"Can you be serious for one minute?" Kankuro said irritably. "We have work to do."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forget you would have preferred a specific someone to hug you," Ryu said, raising his eyebrows.

He could strangle this idiot.

"Leave him alone, Ryu," Rubi said, still giggling. "Come on, let's go back downstairs," she said to Sutera and Mimi.

Sutera and Mimi followed Rubi to the stairs, walking past Ryu and Kankuro. Mimi was wearing a loose tank top and shorts. She rarely showed her legs. They were slim and pale, but looked smooth—

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Ryu said. "'We have _work_ to do,'" he mocked, before jumping to another building, laughing.

Kankuro made a mental note to tell Gaara not to have him work with Ryu anymore. He gave him a headache.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gaara looked through his papers, deep in thought. He was backed up on some work, but Temari was helping him look over some of his documents next to him on his desk.

"The village is going to be on a tight budget for a while because of all these repairs," he said, looking through some documents.

"I wonder what would have happened if some of the buildings didn't get fixed after the queen left." Shikamaru commented, who was also in the office, looking over paperwork regarding the future Chunnin exams.

"I'm just thankful that some of the buildings repaired after the Queen returned to her dimension." Gaara said. "It's going to be hard to manage the damage that remained. I don't want to know what I would have had to do had all of the buildings needed to be repaired."

"Do you know exactly how much needs to be fixed?"

"I'm working on that now. I sent Naruto and the rest of them to do a rough blueprint of what needs to be fixed. They should be ready to leave back to Konoha whenever they please afterward."

"About that…" Shikamaru said uncomfortably.

"What?" Gaara said, already anticipating that he probably was going to hear something he didn't want to hear. Temari suddenly started to bury herself in more of the documents.

"Me and Temari have decided that it would be best if we were to leave to Konoha with them."

"No." Gaara said bluntly, starting to read his documents again.

"We want to get married over there. Getting married here isn't really…ideal at the moment." Shikamaru continued.

Gaara looked up at him angrily. "Why not? Are you implying that you don't think Suna is safe?"

"There was a close call. She was in that shelter and she almost got hit. Luckily, she ducked out of the way." Shikamaru said. "But that's not what I'm saying, and that's not the reason why we want to leave. A situation like that could have happened at Konoha too."

"What is the reason, then?" Gaara asked. "And I don't want to hear it from you. Temari, is this what you want?" He said, turning to her.

"Yes," Temari sighed, putting aside the documents. "I want to make a closer relationship with his family. I think that's what's best for us and for my future child."

Gaara stood quiet for a moment.

"How long do you plan on staying there?" He finally asked.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Gaara said, knowing that if she's deciding to leave to Konoha at this point, she would be staying there at least until the baby was born, or even a bit longer than that.

"I just…don't know right now, Gaara."

"Very well, then." Gaara said, standing up. "Just don't forget that you have family here, too. I'm going to take a break." He said, walking out of his office, leaving Temari and Shikamaru there with an awkward silence.

Temari sighed. "I knew he was going to react like this. He thinks I'm going to leave him and Kankuro."

"This is going to connect our families, Temari. He'll see that soon enough."

**A/N: Already started writing the next chapter. =]**


	11. Konoha

**A/N: Enjoy.**

From the top of the kage's building, Suna looked as bright as ever, juxtaposed to the fading sun that had been clouded by the abnormal weather conditions recently. Despite the utter turmoil on certain parts of the village that could still be seen from this view, an air of peace settled throughout the dry environment, bustling with life and excitement as the civilians started to resume their normal everyday tasks.

"You're usually not up here so early in the day," Gaara heard someone say from behind him as he was looking over his village, lost in his thoughts.

"Is something bothering you?" The familiar, soft spoken voice asked him as he stood silent.

She walked next to him, looking over the village the same way he was, letting the light wind flutter through her hair as she noticed he didn't answer.

Gaara smirked. Only Matsuri would be the one to notice when he was thinking about something that was bothering him. Many people assumed he was just a silent and aloof person, but Matsuri recognized his silence, as if it would speak to her. She saw past his usual external stoic demeanor, and saw an array of emotions that rushed around inside him. Despite his quiet nature, she noticed his contentment, his worry, his anger, his sadness...in a way that permeated past a normal relationship between a sensei and his student. But she never pressured him to speak. She was patient with him. As their bond strengthened over time, she'd grown to understand him in a way no one else could.

"Being the Kazekage, sometimes you lose track of time when you're caught up in so much work." He finally decided to say. "You don't notice how quickly things change. It can throw you off guard when you realize you have to adapt to new situations in your life that arise."

"What situations?" Matsuri asked.

"I'm going to be an uncle, soon." Gaara said. "It never really dawned on me how much we've matured, how we each are now starting to lead our lives differently. I'm afraid it'll separate us…I don't want that to happen, especially since I've ostracized my siblings for a huge part of my life unfairly. I thought helping plan Temari's wedding would bring us closer. She always says how close Kankuro and I are. I don't want her to think that I prefer him over her...but maybe that's why she's choosing to leave to Konoha and get married there."

Matsuri turned to look at him, feeling a bit of sympathy. The Gaara she always knew had a deep caring for his siblings, so his concern for his relationship with them didn't surprise her. But this was one of the rare moments where he opened up to her without her having to read him. Her heart fluttered as she knew he wouldn't tell this to just anyone.

"I don't think it's like that at all, Gaara. The relationship between you and your siblings are evolving, but that doesn't mean that it would separate you. You wouldn't let that happen, Gaara. This would make you guys closer." Matsuri said, putting a hand on his shoulder assuringly.

Gaara nodded in agreement. "Like ours," he said, turning to her.

"…What do you mean?" Matsuri asked.

Gaara sighed, looking away briefly before gaining the courage to face her again, ready to bring up what he's wanted to talk to her about for some time now.

"I think it's about time we be honest with each other and stop the denial, Matsuri," he said, gently running his hand through her short hair. "You can't be my student anymore."

Matsuri looked down sadly. She anticipated this subject was going to come up one day. She just wished it wasn't so soon…or today. Or ever. "I know…but…we'll barely see each other. It's hard enough making time to see each other now." Matsuri admitted.

"That's not true. Temari's leaving soon. I'll need someone else to help me organize my paperwork."

She looked up at him, wondering for a minute if he was implying what she thought he was suggesting. She loved the thought of it, if she was being honest with herself, but she had to be realistic. This wasn't just about her. It was about him too.

"People will start to notice, Gaara. We can't do that—"

"I don't care."

Matsuri was slightly taken aback by that response. It's not like him to be so blatant.

"Rumors are going to start floating around again, like when I first chose you as my sensei." Matsuri said. "I don't want you to risk your reputation like that."

"Do you not want to be with me?" He asked directly. "Why do you care so much what others think?"

Matsuri stood silent for a moment, trying to process what he just said. Did he really just ask her that? It took all the effort she had to hold her composure and answer him. She never thought she would hear those words come out of his mouth.

"I…do want to be with you," Matsuri said. "It's not that I care what they think. I care about what may end up happening to you. I don't want you to go through any ridicule because of me. You've worked so hard to get where you are now. I don't want that to go down the drain because of…this."

"'This?' Is that what you consider us?" Gaara said.

Matsuri could hear the hurt in his voice. "It's not like that." She said.

"I take it you don't value our relationship the same way I do." Gaara said, turning to walk down to his office.

She felt her heart drop at that statement.

"How dare you say something like that?!" Matsuri said angrily, grabbing him to face her again. "I _defended_ you every time someone still called you a monster when you first started teaching me! I never once doubted your capabilities, even when everyone else still didn't trust you! And you think I don't value our relationship?!" She felt her eyes starting to water, trying to blink them back.

"Then why reject the opportunity to take things further? We are getting too old to keep brushing things under the rug like nothing ever happened. And it's quite obvious ignoring it isn't working."

The thought of the day they first kissed crept up in Matsuri's memory again. It was so long ago. It was just a regular day of training, and she was working harder than usual since she had been pretty sick the week before and wanted to make up for it. While they were sparring, she tripped over some of his sand, bumping into him, but he caught her and kept his footing so they would avoid tumbling to the ground. This wasn't out of the ordinary. It had happened a couple of times before and they just resumed their training afterward. But out of impulse, Matsuri ended up kissing him this time, and apologized after she realized what she just did, embarrassed. She didn't know what she was thinking, and was sure that he would drop her as a student after that. But to her surprise, he pulled her back into the kiss. She didn't know how long they stood kissing, but eventually they broke apart. Needless to say, training was cancelled the next day, and Matsuri felt terrible, cursing herself for even attempting to take Sari's stupid advice like it was going to work. But they couldn't avoid each other forever, and had agreed that it was best to just forget it happened, and not to mention it to anyone. She had felt awful for initiating it, especially since he had blamed himself, telling her he should have handled it better. But eventually they went back to a normal student-teacher relationship without the awkwardness over time, even though things definitely felt different.

Gaara was right. They couldn't keep doing this. Even as the Kazekage, he still made time to train with her, even if it was less frequent. But every time they were alone together, there was this tension…this longing, and the longer they ignored it, the stronger the feeling got. It was even to the point that Yukata noticed something was off between her and Gaara, and everything always went over her head.

"It's not that I don't want to," Matsuri said to him. "But I care for you too much to take any chances of not being able to see you anymore. I…love you."

Gaara had to think for a moment to register if he heard her correctly. It was like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders now that he knows for sure she feels the same way. He watched her, noticing that for the first time, she had a look of impatience in her eyes, not able to take his silence.

"I love you too," he said. "And I won't let that happen."

Matsuri's eyes brightened as she heard those three words, her tears of anger now turning into tears of joy. She felt him embrace her, and they shared a kiss, the emotions they had locked up for so long finally pouring out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto paced back and forth impatiently as he waited in the Kazekage's building. He had come to give his blueprint on the part of Suna he was assigned to assess for what needed repairs. But Gaara wasn't in his office when he went to report what he found, bumping into Shikamaru and Temari walking out of his office instead. They told him that he'll probably be back soon, because he said he went to take a break.

"What's taking him so long?" Naruto asked, grumpily fumbling through the neatly designed blueprint that Shino helped him with.

"It's only been five minutes." Shino stated. "I don't see what your rush is."

"I wanted to stop by the ramen stand before it got too packed."

"There are other things to eat besides ramen, Naruto."

"You just don't understand, Shino," Naruto said, looking at him seriously. "Nothing is better than ramen."

"I beg to differ." Shino retorted. He really didn't understand Naruto's obsession with ramen. It was good to eat, but Naruto just brought it to a level where it was exaggeration and unnecessary idealism.

"Why are you guys just standing here?" Kiba asked, walking toward them with Akamaru before Naruto could argue. "Where's the Kazekage?"

"We wouldn't be standing here if we knew," Shino commented. "Shikamaru said that he left somewhere to take a quick break. He should be here soon."

Fifteen more minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Gaara. By this time, Naruto was getting restless, starting to suggest that they come back later, the others starting to agree.

"Hey, did you give your blueprints to Gaara yet?" Kankuro asked as he saw the rest of them waiting.

"No, he's been gone for the past twenty minutes. He probably got caught up in something. We were about to leave and come back later." Shino said.

"You took pretty long." Kiba commented.

"That tends to happen when you're put to work with someone who's more of a headache than Naruto." Kankuro snapped back at him.

"Hey! What are you trying to say?" Naruto said defensively.

"Where is he, anyway? Isn't he supposed to be here with you?" Shino asked, not wanting to hear Naruto's mouth.

"Yeah, where is that guy? I've been wanting to ask him how he was able to catch my rasengans and put them in his pocket," Naruto added, forgetting about Kankuro's insult, now with an inquisitive look on his face. He didn't even think that was possible.

"I don't know; he probably went to go kick rocks or something." Kankuro said. "I don't really care either way, I have the blueprint. I'll be right back; I'm going to go look for Gaara. It's not like him to do this."

_Five minutes later…_

Kankuro walked back to the group of guys, Ryu now with them. It didn't take him long to find where Gaara was. He figured he was on the roof somewhere. But he didn't expect to see what he ended up seeing. Apparently his student was…keeping him company. This time, he thought best not to interrupt him and left before they noticed he was there.

"Come on, can you tell me how you learned to do that?" Kankuro heard Naruto ask Ryu.

"No," Ryu said. "Like they say, a shinobi never shares their secrets."

"No one says that." Kiba pointed out.

"Isn't it a magician that never shares their secrets?" Shino chimed in, agreeing with Kiba.

"Whatever, same difference." Ryu said, shrugging. "I don't hear you guys sharing your jutsus."

"Hey look, Kankuro's back." Shino said. "Did you find him?"

"Yeah, he's busy right now. Come back later." Kankuro said.

"Alright! Let's go get some ramen!" Naruto said, running off.

"I'll pass." Shino said, starting to walk off in the opposite direction of Naruto, who was already gone.

"Wait, where're you going?" Kiba asked.

"Somewhere where there's no ramen. I'm getting sick of hearing about it." Shino said. "There might be some bugs around here that I can use for my research. Are you with me?"

Kiba looked away uncomfortably, choosing the better of the two, which was not looking for bugs. Shino was his buddy, but some of the stuff he did on his spare time was just plain weird. He left, walking off in Naruto's direction, leaving Kankuro and Ryu alone.

Ryu squinted his eyes at Kankuro in mock skepticism, getting into a fighting stance that looked ridiculous.

"Don't start," Kankuro said irritably.

"But you said you-"

"Not now."

"Come on!" Ryu said in frustration.

"No. I can already see the stupid rubbing off of you. We can spar another time." Kankuro said before walking away.

"You should brighten up a bit, you know?" He called to him before storming off.

Ryu groaned in frustration, heading to the training grounds in disappointment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Later…_

Back in the Kazekage's office, Gaara sat in his desk, deep in thought. Kankuro sat with him with an amused look when Gaara told him they have "other important matters at hand to deal with" after he asked him why he was gone for the past twenty minutes. From the look on Kankuro's face, Gaara got the clue that he already knew where he was and what he was doing, and ignored his older brother's questions as he walked in his office to resume his work. Eventually the blueprints were dropped off, and Gaara looked through them with a pensive expression.

"Doing all of these repairs is out of our budget," Gaara said, looking at the blueprints of Suna, a distressed look on his face. "We're going to have to request financial help from Konoha if we want the economy to remain stable."

"That's tough. Do you know how much they'll be able to help us with?" Kankuro asked.

"Not nearly enough to cover what would be left," Gaara said. "The Hokage told me he had to balance the budget in Konoha in our last meeting. He has his own issues to deal with, so I'm sure he won't be able to lend us much. This leaves us with a huge issue."

"Are you saying you might have to borrow from other villages?"

"Yes, but it would be a huge risk, unfortunately. There's not as much trust as we have with Konoha. I haven't decided which villages to communicate with yet. Many of the villages close to us will try to take an opportunity to overpower us in this vulnerable state."

"That's true," Kankuro said, contemplating. Even though the world was pretty much at peace, that didn't mean there weren't opportunists. Many villages that were rivals had put their differences aside, but there was still tension. It would be easy to break a treaty if there were signs of weakness. Kankuro figured it wasn't only Suna that had gotten frozen. The bad weather could have damaged a huge amount of resources in other villages and nations. If the origin of where the snow came from was figured out, it would be likely that the other villages would want to put the blame on Suna. That was the last thing they needed.

As Gaara and Kankuro were trying to discuss options, there was a knock on the door. They saw it was Shikamaru, who was dropping off some documents regarding the chunnin exams that Gaara was to overlook.

"That's quite a bit of damage," Shikamaru said as he glanced at the blueprints on the desk.

"We know," Gaara said. "We're trying to figure out how we're going to be able to repair this in a timely manner. Konoha won't be able to lend us much."

"You just became allies with a village that has one of the greatest banks of the northern hemisphere. They should be able to help you. In fact, it would also make international relations better." Shikamaru stated matter-of-factly.

"He has a point," Kankuro said to Gaara.

"Do you think you'll be able to go up north?" Gaara asked Shikamaru.

"To be honest, no." Shikamaru said. "I plan on staying with Temari for a while."

"Understandable," Gaara said. "I need to think of a person who would be successful in negotiating with the village up north, with knowledge of economics and finance."

"What about Rojikku?" Kankuro suggested.

"He just left on a mission." Gaara said. "I'm not sure when he'll be back."

"What about the other guy with the purple hair?" Shikamaru asked.

"You mean Kanjo?" Kankuro asked. "I'd be surprised if he even knows anything about economics."

"I wouldn't put much faith in his negotiating skills either." Gaara said. "If he were to leave, he would have to go with someone else."

"Where can we find someone who would know how to do this…" Kankuro said.

"Well, there is one person who might know what to do." Gaara said after giving it some thought after a couple of minutes of silence.

"And who is that?" Shikamaru asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There, I'm all done." Rubi said, after an hour of Mimi having to stay still while Rubi put makeup on her face. They had recently come back from the bath house, and were now back in Rubi's place, helping Sutera get ready for her date. After Rubi finished doing Sutera's makeup, she offered to do Mimi's, since she was bored and why not. They were just going to spend the rest of the day watching romantic comedies and gossiping anyway after Sutera left…and then of course bombard her with questions when they saw her at work the next day. "What do you think?" Rubi asked.

"I look like a porcelain doll," Mimi said, staring at herself in the mirror.

"So?" Rubi said.

"I don't know, I expected you to do my makeup like Sutera's." Mimi said, slightly turning her head side to side to see all the makeup on her face.

"I was practicing different looks because I got offered to do customers' makeup for the next couple of weeks at work. And I think that look suits you well."

"That's great, Rubi." Mimi said. "But why did they offer you that position for the next couple of weeks? There are already makeup artists working there."

"You mean you don't know?" Sutera asked, trying on one of Rubi's heels that she was going to borrow for the night. Rubi had a massive collection of shoes, and it gave Sutera a bunch of options to see which one would match with the dress she was planning to wear.

"Don't know what?" Mimi asked, confused.

"About the festival that's coming up!" Sutera said.

"There's a festival?" Mimi asked.

"She's not from around here, Sutera. She wouldn't have known," Rubi said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Sutera said. "Well, we have one every summer. That means more girls who want to look nice, so we get a huge influx of customers, and need other staff to accommodate. Rubi is skilled at makeup, so she always gets picked to help the makeup artists out, and they give her a couple of weeks in advance to get in the swing of things. And that means scheduling and squeezing in a bunch of appointments in one day on my part. It's a huge pain in the neck." Sutera commented, since she was a receptionist at the front desk. "It might be even more hectic after all the craziness that just happened to the village. But we don't let things like that stop us from enjoying ourselves."

"I like the excitement. I can't wait!" Rubi said, not minding the extra work.

"It does sound fun," Mimi said. "We used to have small festivals in my village. I'm curious to see how Suna's would be. They must be so much more dramatic since Suna is so much bigger."

"Oh, they're great," Sutera chimed in. "I just hope I finally get a date to spend the day with so we can kiss under the fireworks when night falls…"

"You're such a hopeless romantic," Rubi commented.

"It's easy for you to say. You always have a date every year," Sutera retorted.

"Those are some of the perks of having a guy best friend." Rubi said happily. "If all else fails, you can go with him."

"Well, if your date turns out well tonight, you have a chance," Mimi said, trying to brighten the blonde girl up. "You might get lucky this year."

"I guess so. What about you, Mimi? Are you going to look for a date to go with?" Sutera asked.

Mimi shrugged. "I'm not really expecting to go with anyone. I think I'll just focus on checking out how the festival is this year since it'll be my first time."

A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

"I wonder who that could be," Mimi said.

"It's probably Ryu. He might have changed his mind about hanging out with us," Rubi said, walking to the door.

But when she opened the door, it wasn't Ryu. It was Kankuro with the same, serious look on his face, the hood of his cloak making him look more menacing. It didn't seem to intimidate Rubi, though.

"Oh, it's just the Grim Reaper," she joked. "What are you doing here? Wanted to hang out with us?"

"The Kazekage wants to speak to Mimi," he said, ignoring Rubi's comment.

"Oh, okay." Rubi said, nodding. "Hey, Mimi, you're in trouble with the Kazekage!" Rubi called out to her.

"What are you talking about?" Mimi asked, walking to the door, seeing Kankuro standing there. She smirked as she now understood Rubi's Grim Reaper comment. She found his cloak cool, though. "Why am I in trouble?"

"You're not in trouble." Kankuro said to her. "The Kazekage needs to speak to you about something important. Are you busy right now?"

"Not really," Mimi said, now wondering what the Kazekage could possibly want to talk to her about. A bunch of gruesome scenarios with bad news popped up in her head. Or maybe she had to leave…or maybe she was just exaggerating the possibilities.

"Good. Come with me." Kankuro said, already starting to walk away.

"Um…okay." Mimi said, trying to process the unexpected invitation. She told Rubi she'll be back later, and walked out the door, catching up to him.

Mimi walked with him quietly, not really knowing what to say. She hadn't spoken to Kankuro since he came back from that weird portal thing, or whatever that was, and he didn't seem too happy when she last saw him on the roof earlier today, but that could have just been because of Ryu. A part of her wanted to ask him about what happened. She knew that it probably was something she shouldn't know, but she had a feeling it had been dangerous, and was a bit concerned. It could even be some form of advanced technology not even the Land of Snow had invented yet. Regardless of the situation, it made her realize that Kankuro lived in a drastically different world. In reality, she didn't really know much about him, and she didn't think she would ever get to. Her life revolved around numbers. His life was like some action packed thrill adventure comic…well, in her perspective. But Ryu and Rubi were friends, so she'd be able to do it too…right? No, she doubted it. They were friends since childhood. It was different. But it wouldn't hurt to say something. Why was she so hesitant all of a sudden?

The walk to the Kazekage's office seemed like it was only a minute since Mimi was so lost in her own head. Her thoughts then went back to why the Kazekage wanted to speak to her. Kankuro said she wasn't in trouble, so what could it be?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm sorry for requesting you on such short notice. I hope I didn't call you on a bad time." The Kazekage said to Mimi, looking at her questionably.

"No, you didn't request me at a bad time," Mimi said reassuringly, looking down at her feet to hide the unease she was feeling, her emotions and thoughts tumbling around in her head as she anticipated why he brought her here. She forgot she had a whole bunch of makeup on; he probably assumed she was going out somewhere. If only he knew how wrong that was. She was pretty much living like an old maid most of the time. The self-reflection made her realize that maybe she should do something a bit more exciting with her new life here.

Mimi looked up again as she heard him shuffle through some papers he had prepared on his desk.

"Based on what is written on your resume, you have work experience in one of the most well-known banks in the Land of Snow." The Kazekage stated, putting her resume down in front of him.

"Yes…" Mimi said with a hint of confusion at the reason why he would state this piece of information to her. But she was more confused as to how on earth he got ahold of her resume.

"You also have experience mailing documents across the land, and currently work as an accountant here."

Mimi nodded, feeling more uncertain as he spoke. How did he know all this? Then again, he was the Kazekage. He had his ways.

"I would like for you to tell me more about your experience working in the bank."

Mimi pondered for a moment as she tried to figure out where to start. She was working at the bank for a while and had done a variety of work there, being a loan officer her latest position. She had initially started off as a bank teller, but eventually got the training she needed to work in different positions, and then started advising industrial companies in the Land of Snow, which wanted to take out loans to be able to expand. She had also advised individual citizens for smaller loans when needed. As Mimi explained this to the Kazekage, she couldn't really tell if he wanted to hear anymore of her experience there as she got into the technicalities of the job. He looked like he was getting bored the more she went on. Maybe she was talking too much? It wasn't the first time she's heard from people how boring her job could be. But she wanted to make sure she was giving him the information he wanted. She still wasn't sure why he was asking her any of this, and hoped this wasn't an interview or interrogation of some sort. She might have screwed it up if it was.

"That's enough," the Kazekage eventually said, apparent that he had had enough of hearing about calculating finances.

He started to ask her about her traveling experience when she was mailing letters to different parts of the land. As she was explaining what she did, there was a knock on the door, with someone walking in before the Kazekage even gave the okay to walk inside. This seemed to upset him based on the look of annoyance he had on his face.

"I am having an important discussion right now. Please wait outside, Kanjo." The Kazekage said in a tone Mimi would never want to hear directed at her. To Mimi's surprise, Kanjo mumbled something rudely before walking out again.

"I am sorry for that interruption," the Kazekage continued. "Based on what you have told me, you seem to have a lot of experience in working with loans, even with large businesses and corporations."

Mimi nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"As you can see, there has been some damage that has been left over from the events that occurred recently. We won't be able to afford the repairs on our own. We will have to borrow from other areas, the bank you worked in, preferably. I contacted you because I have a job for you regarding these issues, if you're interested. As of now, you're the most qualified person I could think of who could handle a situation like this."

Mimi nodded. "I would love to help."

The Kazekage gave her a huge pile of papers that he had beside him on the desk. "I need you to look through these documents to get an idea of our financial standing before I decide to borrow from other places."

Mimi looked down at the documents briefly. It wasn't much different than what she was used to working with. "Lord Kazekage, one bank won't be able to cover everything. Most likely I would have to contact many places after looking through these documents."

"I am aware of that, "The Kazekage said, nodding in agreement. "While you are looking through the documents, I would like for you to give me the contact information from your previous bosses as a reference. By the time I hear from them, I should be ready to tell you what to do next."

"Yes...of course," Mimi said meekly. She felt like a hole just burned open a pit of her stomach as she heard those words. Whatever awesome job the Kazekage just offered was going to go down the drain. If she didn't mess this up yet, then she was definitely screwed now.

"Please don't take it personally. It's just a formality." Mimi heard him say. He sounded like he was a mile away as she felt her heart start to race at his seemingly simple request. This wouldn't have been a problem if one of her bosses wasn't Yujiro. She sighed internally as she fumbled around in her head on how she was going to solve this. She couldn't just outright tell the Kazekage that her boss was her ex and they ended it on bad terms...

"I understand," Mimi said, taking the documents nervously, quickly writing down the contact information of her previous bosses and her current one for the Kazekage.

"Thank you. Expect to be traveling out of Suna. You will be assigned to leave with Kanjo. I expect you to excel. You are dismissed."

Mimi rushed out of the office, ready to leave the building. With Yujiro's reference, she wouldn't be expecting to leave Suna anytime soon, at least doing this job. The least she could do is look over these documents and provide helpful information before the Kazekage receives an unfair review of her work experience from her previous boss. The job she got in Suna wasn't an issue; they didn't ask for direct references…but this job was much more important. She felt herself fall backward as she bumped into someone who she didn't realize was standing right outside the door, and the papers she had scattered all over the floor.

Mimi hurriedly tried to gather all the papers that fell on the floor, not bothering to see who the person was.

"Sheesh, what's the rush?" Mimi heard someone say.

As she looked up to see who it was, she saw that it was Kanjo.

"What were you doing standing outside of the Kazekage's office like that? Were you eavesdropping?" She asked him as she tried to get the remaining pieces of paper that were still on the floor.

"No, I was just listening intently." Kanjo retorted matter-of-factly.

"That's extremely rude. You shouldn't do that." Mimi said as she saw someone else walking toward them. It was Kankuro. He had left to go somewhere after he brought her to the Kazekage's office.

"Oh, come on, you mean to tell me you're not excited? It'll just be me and you, like partners in crime, if you know what I mean." Kanjo joked.

"Psh, this kind of work is far from that." Mimi said flatly.

"Stop being an idiot, Kanjo," Kankuro said. "Here," he said to Mimi, handing her the rest of the papers that were on the floor.

"T-Thanks..." Mimi said after standing up. She felt her face heat up as finally looked at him directly in the face, and quickly looked away. "I need to get going..." she said, remembering the issue she was supposed to be worried about. She had no idea what to do.

"What's up with you? You have a date or something?" Kanjo asked.

"What? No..." Mimi said, confused.

"Yeah, right." Kanjo said. "Then why do you look all different?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mimi said, already bothered by him. She didn't have time for this. "I just have an errand to run."

"Why are you even here, Kanjo? Doesn't Gaara want to speak to you?" Kankuro asked him, annoyed.

"Oh, yeah." Kanjo said, walking in the office.

Mimi took the opportunity to run off, wanting to leave the building as soon as possible. She didn't even want to know the things that Yujiro would insinuate about her just to spite her and make her look bad, especially after the stunt she pulled on the roof of the bank that felt like so long ago. By now, everyone in the bank probably already knew it was her who was standing on the roof. She wished she would have thought the consequences through if she actually managed to survive. Then she wouldn't have to be going through this right now.

As she left the building trying to think of what to do, she saw a familiar guy with a spiky ponytail sleeping on a bench nearby. Then it hit her. _That's it!_ Mimi thought. Temari would know what to do. She might be able to help her. She rushed toward Shikamaru, gently shaking him awake.

"Five more minutes..." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Shikamaru, please wake up, just for one moment!" Mimi said.

It took him a minute, but he reluctantly sat up, rubbing his eyes. Mimi wondered how on earth he could just fall asleep on an uncomfortable bench, but Temari had told her that he'll sleep anywhere if it's possible.

"I'm sorry to...wake you," Mimi said awkwardly. "But I wanted to know if you've seen Temari. I need to speak to her about something important."

"Temari?" Shikamaru grumbled. "She said something about shopping for clothes. I don't know..."

_Well, that helps_. Mimi thought sarcastically.

"Hey, can you do me a favor, since you're trying to look for Temari anyway?" He asked.

"Uh, sure..." Mimi said.

"Temari gave me a list of things to buy while she was out shopping. I was supposed to have brought them back home by now, but I ended up taking a break. Looking for these things is kind of a drag, and she gets annoyed when I procrastinate. She should be on her way home now; you might bump into her when you're out getting these things for me. Can you do me that favor? I kind of want to nap for a little longer."

"Okay," Mimi said, taking the list and the money needed to get the things on the list.

"Thanks, I owe you." He said, lying back down on the bench, closing his eyes again.

Mimi looked at the list, reading the things that were to be bought. It was a list of household items that were needed for chores around the home. No wonder Shikamaru didn't want to do it. Mimi figured he was trying to avoid doing chores.

Surprisingly, Mimi saw a familiar kunoichi with four ponytails in another store nearby as Mimi was walking from market to market. It was less crowded as the day was starting to turn into evening. Mimi found it weird how Shikamaru was right. Mimi didn't really think it would be likely to find her, but wanted to do Shikamaru the favor since she had woken him up. She quickly rushed to the store that Temari was in, noticing that it was a store mainly for children and babies.

"Hey, Temari," Mimi said, walking in the store as casually as she could, approaching her. "You're looking for baby clothes already?"

"Oh, hi," Temari said. "I'm just looking around. I'm...excited, I guess."

"That's so cute. Are you guys hoping for a girl?" Mimi said, seeing that she was looking at small, pink clothes for newborns.

"Shikamaru is hoping for a girl. The gender doesn't really matter to me. I was looking at everything." Temari said, starting to walk into another aisle. "What are you doing around here?"

Straight to the point, as always.

"Just running some errands," Mimi said, glancing at the list in her hand.

"Give me that," Temari said, taking the list out of her hand. "This is the list that I gave Shikamaru. What are you doing with it?"

"I was just doing him a favor—"

"He got you to do his errands? Wait 'till I see that lazy ass later…" Temari said, upset.

"Don't be mad at him. I offered to do them because I had found him sleeping on a bench near the Kazekage's building. I was looking for you and he said you were somewhere around here. Since I was going to be around the area I figured I'd buy the things you guys needed," Mimi said, twisting the truth a tad bit.

"Hn," Temari scoffed, not satisfied with her answer. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, the Kazekage offered me a job to do…"

"And? What's so bad about that?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's not the problem…" Mimi said, looking down.

"Then what is it?" She asked, giving Mimi that intimidating expression that Mimi thought she would get used to. She hadn't.

"The Kazekage wanted references from my previous bosses."

Temari crossed her arms. "And why would this be a problem? Unless you did something wrong, which in that case, you probably deserve what you get."

Ouch. That was harsh. "Is dating one of my bosses considered as something bad?" Mimi mumbled, ashamed.

"Yujiro was your boss?! I thought you told me everything!" Temari said, astonished.

"Yeah…I might have left that small detail out. I didn't think I'd ever have to face that part of my life again. And now I have to hope he won't screw this up like he screwed up everything else. I'm not really putting much faith in him giving an unbiased evaluation of my work experience after what happened between us." Mimi said, dejected. "But I couldn't just tell the Kazekage that. I had no idea what to do. Then I saw Shikamaru sleeping and I thought that maybe you might know what to do about this. Ugh, this is what I get for dating my boss…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I think I can figure something out. I would have to talk to Matsuri about this if you want me to help you, though." Temari said, walking out the store, done with looking around.

"Huh?! Why would you have to tell Matsuri about this?" Mimi asked, following suit. "Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with her, but don't you think it would be best if less people know about it? I don't really want this going around…"

"I told Shikamaru to drop off the rest of the paperwork I had at Gaara's office earlier, since I'm going to be leaving for a while. Shikamaru told me that Matsuri would be taking my place. If I talk to her, she could convince Gaara that she could handle the references while he gets other work done."

"That would be great! Yujiro was the only one I was worried about." Mimi said, relieved that there might be a solution. "I'm sad to hear you're leaving, though. Where are you leaving to?"

"I'm going to Konoha with Shikamaru's family for a while. I've decided I want to marry there."

"Oh," Mimi said, a bit saddened at the news. "I wish you the best. I'm gonna miss you."

Temari smirked. "I'll miss you too. Now come on, let's buy this stuff on the list. He's so smart but I could never leave the simplest tasks up to him…" she grumbled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're going to accompany Himitsu. I want you to keep an eye open for suspicious behavior. This mission will be a test of trust and dedication on her part. She seemed like she was hiding something when I was speaking to her about this." Gaara said to Kanjo. "If she is hiding something, this could be our opportunity to find out what it is."

"Didn't you make a treaty with the village she was from?" Kanjo asked.

"You have to keep your allies close, but your enemies closer. Our association with them is still fresh. The ties we have with them are delicate. We are still walking on eggshells with them."

"With all due respect, Lord Kazekage, I doubt she would have anything up her sleeve. She was trying to off herself, for God's sake." Kanjo said.

"I have to consider all possibilities for the safety of Suna."

"All possibilities? You really think if she was hiding something, she'd make it that obvious?"

"Possibly." Gaara stated emphatically. "There's no knowing what it could be."

"I'm sure if she's hiding something, it's probably over something stupid, like failing stocks, or her prince charming turned out to be gay," Kanjo said, getting a livid look from the Kazekage.

"Stop joking around." Kankuro said seriously. "Listen to what Gaara is saying."

"Okay, okay," Kanjo said, smirking. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"Good. I plan to send you two to Konoha first. Most likely you'll be leaving with the others. And you'll report to me before leaving elsewhere."

"Awesome. It'll be a huge party."

"I expect you to take this seriously, Kanjo." Gaara said crossly. "You are dismissed for now."

"Are you sure you want to put him up to this?" Kankuro asked Gaara after Kanjo walked out of the office.

"I don't see a reason why I shouldn't." Gaara said dismissively, going through some documents he had on his desk.

"You saw the way he was acting. I've been on missions with him before. If he doesn't have someone to keep him in check, he'll end up goofing off."

"Are you saying he's inadequate for this mission?" Gaara asked.

"To be honest, yes."

Gaara sighed. "Kanjo may be a bit facetious, but almost all of his missions have been successful, and I have no doubts about sending him on this mission either. It won't be hard for him to keep an eye on someone who's suspicious. It was him, in fact, who pointed out the person who led you to the vault during your mission in the Land of Snow, according to what was told to me."

"He was with a team for the majority of those missions." Kankuro said stubbornly.

"So what? The missions he has done by himself have been successful as well. He is a strong and able shinobi." Gaara said, looking up at Kankuro skeptically. "This is the first time I'm hearing this from you. You've never had an issue with any other missions he's done before."

"I was just stating my observation."

"Right." Gaara said dubiously. He figured there was more to this than what meets the eye. Time to test him. "Do you think you can do a better job?"

"What do you think?" Kankuro replied sarcastically. "Of course I can."

"I doubt that." Gaara stated flatly, patiently waiting for his reaction.

"What?! Why not?"

"No reason. That's just what I think." Gaara said, wanting to put an end to this conversation. But of course, he knew his brother. He wasn't going to let him drop the conversation just like that. It was only a matter of time before he spilled. He was falling right into his trap.

"I can do a better job." Kankuro insisted. "And I can prove it."

"I don't need you to prove anything. You belong here in Suna. My job isn't to place bets on who can do a mission more successfully."

"Because you know I'm right." Kankuro said confidently.

Gaara smirked. If Kankuro wanted to be slick, then he can be slicker. "I can see you really want to go on this mission. Are there any reasons for that?" He asked in a tone that implied he was on to his motives.

Kankuro suddenly started looking around the office uncomfortably. He was so easy to read it was laughable. "Well…besides the fact that you questioned my abilities, you said that everyone else will be leaving with them…so that means Temari's going to be there, right?"

Gaara had to admit to himself that he pulled that excuse off the top of his head pretty smoothly. He wins this one, though using Temari as the scapegoat was low. He expected better from his oh-so-wise older brother. But he'll let him have this one, for once. "Fine, I'll send Kanjo on another mission since you've shown such abrupt concern about our sister's well-being, even though we have more than enough time to spend with her before she leaves." Gaara implied with a hint of sarcasm. Really, if he was honest about wanting to spend time with the girl he wouldn't be so difficult. But Kankuro wanted to beat around the bush and insult his intelligence like he didn't notice what was going on. But Gaara was sure that Kankuro didn't even want to admit it to himself. He hadn't seen this much denial since Lee tried to convince him that he possessed the Byakugan by rolling his eyes in the back of his head, and that was a new level of idiocy that surpassed Naruto's.

"Really? You're gonna let me go? Just like that?" Kankuro asked, surprised.

"Yes. Don't make me regret this." Gaara told him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was barely starting to rise as Mimi stood at the entrance of Suna with the rest of the shinobi that were from Konoha. She was happy that she would be spending more time with Temari since they would be leaving together, and was thankful that Temari and Matsuri were able to help her with that small issue she was worried about. Luckily for her, Yujiro had written a normal reference letter. She wondered if that meant things were okay between them.

"Nervous about leaving?" Matsuri asked, walking to Mimi as she saw her staring off into the sunrise. She was with the Kazekage to say goodbye to Temari, who surprisingly wasn't here yet. She figured it was because a certain someone wanted to sleep in for a couple of more minutes before leaving. As of now, it was only the Kazekage, Matsuri, Shino, and herself. Mimi noticed Matsuri was with the Kazekage more often. She wondered if things ever got serious between the two since the last time her and Matsuri spoke when she first entered Suna. Or maybe it was because she was working more directly with him since Temari was leaving. As curious as she was, she figured it would be rude to ask.

"Not really. I'm a bit excited to see another village. It's so interesting to be able to travel to so many difference places. I never expected my life to take this turn." Mimi said quietly. She still felt a bit tired since it was so early, but she knew she couldn't fuss and press the snooze button on her alarm clock. She couldn't make herself look bad after the Kazekage entrusted her with this assignment. She already had a plan about how to solve the current financial issue in Suna, and she didn't want to mess it up simply by oversleeping.

"You'll like it. Konoha is really breathtaking at this time of the year." Matsuri said encouragingly.

"You've been there before?" Mimi asked, interested.

"Most of us have. We get sent there often since we're allies."

"Oh, I see." Mimi said. That must have been nice, traveling between two beautiful villages all the time.

"Hey look, I see Temari coming," Matsuri said, looking ahead.

Mimi saw a frustrated Temari walking with Shikamaru, who at the moment, looked like a walking zombie as if he were still half asleep, which was probably a fairly accurate description.

"I was so close to smacking him awake with my fan," Temari said to the Kazekage as they both approached the gates.

"We're still waiting for the others," the Kazekage said to Temari, to ease her annoyance. "They should be here in a few minutes."

"I see Akamaru," Shino said.

Mimi looked to see the giant dog running quickly toward them, panting happily.

"Aaaaw, hey Akamaru," Mimi said to the dog, petting his head, slightly envious of his early morning energy. He wagged his tail happily.

"Ha! I win!" Naruto said, running to the group a couple of seconds after Akamaru.

"No you don't! Akamaru came first, which means I win," Kiba said, following suit.

"That's bull! Just because Akamaru came first doesn't mean you win!" Naruto argued.

"Do you two have to turn _everything_ into a competition?" Shino added.

"Yeah, it's fun." Kiba said.

"So who do you think won, Shino?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not getting into this," Shino said, walking away toward the Kazekage, who was having a conversation with Temari and Shikamaru.

Naruto then turned to Mimi and Matsuri, who were busy petting the dog. "What do you guys think?"

"I think that Akamaru won," Matsuri said, smiling. "And that Kiba shouldn't take credit for it, so the both of you guys lose."

"I agree," Mimi said. "Isn't that right, Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked, knocking both Matsuri and Mimi to the ground, licking the both of them.

"Off, boy!" Kiba said to the overly excited dog, helping Mimi and Matsuri off the ground. "Sorry, sometimes he forgets his own size."

"Are you okay, Matsuri?" Mimi heard the Kazekage ask.

"It's okay, he didn't hurt us." Matsuri said, straightening her clothes as she stood up, walking to him. _Definitely something going on between them,_ Mimi thought.

"So, what are you doing here? Are you leaving with us?" Kiba asked Mimi.

"Yeah...there are some things I need to take care of." Mimi said. She didn't really know what else to say to him. After that incident in the ramen shop, she would have figured it would be kind of awkward. But he didn't seem to care. That was a good thing.

"Awesome. Have you ever been to Konoha before?"

Mimi shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like."

"Well, when you finish taking care of whatever you need to take care of, I can show you around, if you'd like." He suggested, giving her a wide grin, showing off his long canines.

"That'd be nice," Mimi said, giving a small smile.

"Who else are we waiting for anyway?" Kiba asked, looking around to see who was already here.

"Kanjo. He's coming with me."

"There was a change of plans," Kankuro said, walking toward them.

Mimi felt her face get red. She looked down, staring at the shoes she was wearing. She felt her stomach turn, as if she got caught doing something naughty.

"Great." Kiba said unenthusiastically.

"Everyone's here, we can get going now!" Naruto said.

The group agreed, and got ready to leave the gates of Suna.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Throughout the three day trip, Mimi spent most of her time talking with Temari, as she told her about her experiences in Konoha and how she came about meeting Shikamaru. They had decided to take a break before continuing on to Konoha.

"Wow, so you guys ended up against each other during the Chunnin exams? It's funny how things turn out," Mimi said, interested in Temari's story as she told her about how Suna and Konoha weren't always allies. Kankuro had told her some things about the Chunnin exams, but he told her more about how it was pretty much cancelled midway. Rojikku had told her he had a bad feeling about going for the Chunnin exams that year, which is why him and Kanjo decided to wait until another time. "So who won the fight?"

"Well...I did, but I wouldn't consider it a fair win."

"Why not?"

"Because he forfeited."

"Why am I not surprised..." Mimi said.

"He didn't even want to fight in the first place. He was a huge slacker back then, but he's improved with that over the years."

"...Are you sure about that?" Mimi asked, looking in Shikamaru's direction. Right now, he was sitting down, his head leaning back against a tree with his eyes closed. They had left the desert some time ago, and Mimi figured they must be near Konoha soon with the sudden abundance of trees everywhere.

Temari laughed. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Are you guys talking about the Chunnin exams?" Naruto said, barging in on their conversation. "I remember those times. that's when Gaara was all creepy and-"

"Yes, we know." Temari said, interjecting on Naruto's blunt statement abruptly. It took a moment to realize that what he said might have been kind of rude, and he laughed guiltily.

"Sorry," he said, running his hands through his hair. Mimi looked at the both of them, confused. So, there were family secrets that were best left unknown to newcomers. Interesting. "Well, I wish I could have gone through to the end. It sucks that it was cancelled." Naruto said, changing the direction of the conversation.

"Who did you go against, Naruto?" Mimi asked.

"I went against Kiba in the preliminaries."

"Oh," Mimi said, interested. "How did that fight go?"

Mimi heard a snicker from Temari. Now she really wanted to know what happened. After Temari told her about their match, Mimi laughed loudly.

"That's not funny, it was gross." Kiba said, overhearing the conversation after he heard Naruto and Temari mention his name.

"It was an accident!" Naruto said defensively.

"I thought it was pretty funny." Kankuro added sneeringly, joining in.

"No one asked your opinion." Kiba told him sharply.

"Psh, don't get mad at me because you didn't win over something that stupid."

"I didn't lose because of that!" Kiba said angrily. "Last time I checked, you ended up getting your ass kicked by Shino, so stop showing off." Kiba snapped back.

"Stop putting me in the middle of your arguments," Mimi heard Shino say from...she didn't know. He was hiding somewhere within the bushes, she assumed. Really, the guy was quite weird.

This caused Kankuro to walk off, grumbling unintelligible insults under his breath.

"What is up with you two?" Naruto asked Kiba, Temari agreeing with Naruto.

"I don't know! He's been acting like a major dick since I got to Suna." Kiba exclaimed.

Shikamaru laughed, stretching his arms from his apparent nap. "I think we should get going," he said, standing up. Temari shrugged, following Shikamaru.

As everyone started walking again, Mimi followed Naruto, still interested in his endeavors with the Chunnin exams.

"So, who did you end up fighting after Kiba? Or did it get cancelled after that?" Mimi asked. In reality, she wanted to know how he ended up with one arm...well, she didn't really know whether he had that arm or not. He mostly hid it in his clothes and the times she did see it, it was all bandaged, so she wasn't sure whether an arm was there or not. But she didn't think it would be very polite to ask directly.

Naruto looked down sullenly. "...Neji Hyuuga."

Hyuuga...Mimi's heard that name before. She's heard the name here and there when people were comparing the kekkei genkai they had to the tribe that lived in the North Pole back in her village. She didn't remember much about it, though.

"He must be really strong." Mimi said, coming down with that conclusion from the little she's heard of the Hyuuga clan. "Did you win?"

"I did. But he was very strong." Naruto said sadly.

"Was? Oh...I'm sorry..." Mimi said, looking away guiltily. She shouldn't have prodded so much.

There was an awkward silence between them until Shino and Kiba approached them, most likely to brighten Naruto up after the brutal reminder of his friend's death.

"Hey Naruto, don't you miss Ichiraku's?" Kiba said.

"Of course!" Naruto said. "I can't wait to get some of their ramen. It's been too long. But I miss Hinata more. I hope she's doing fine with Hanabi."

"She should be. The main family is always well taken care of." Kiba said.

"I also took extra measures to make sure she will be safe," Shino added.

"What extra measures?" Naruto asked.

"I was experimenting on a new species, training them to survey surroundings and report over long distances. I felt this would be a perfect situation. I had told you about it before we left." Shino said proudly.

"A new species of what?" Mimi asked curiously.

"Want to see?" Shino asked. "I have one on me."

"Sure!" Mimi said enthusiastically. Mimi liked animals, and was happy to learn about other types of furry critters. Maybe this one was a small bunny of some sorts. Assuming that he probably was a shinobi who worked with animals like Kiba did, she put out her hand, excited to see a cute creature to play with.

Shino excitedly pulled the creature out of his jacket, putting it on Mimi's hand, thankful that there was one person to appreciate his passion for bug research.

"This species is quite large compared to its cousins, being about the size of a human hand. As you can see, its antennae-" Shino started, before hearing a loud, familiar screech when he showed certain people his bugs. He sighed, hoping this time that it would have been different. Oh well.

"What's going on?" Kankuro asked, turning around after his conversation with Temari was interrupted.

"It crawled up my arm and went in my shirt! Temari, help!" Mimi said anxiously, spinning around in circles.

"What crawled up your shirt?" Temari asked.

"A really giant cockroach!" Mimi said, frantically shaking her baggy shirt to try and get it out to no avail.

Temari looked away uncomfortably. "Um...I can't...I'm pregnant..." Temari said, making an excuse. Not many people knew about Temari's phobia of bugs, but Kankuro knew that there was no way, pregnant or not, that Temari would intentionally touch a bug. He would know, being that he used to prank her by hiding scorpions in her room when they were kids. She would get so angry but it was so worth it.

"It's not a cockroach," Shino corrected.

_Yes, because the most important thing right now is knowing the species of this bug,_ Mimi thought sarcastically.

"I don't care what it is! Get it out!" Mimi said tearfully.

"It's just a harmless bug," Kiba said, Akamaru barking in agreement.

"You have to stay still so it can find its way out," Shino said calmly. "You're just making it panic the more you move around like that. That's why it hid in your shirt in the first place."

"Haha, good prank, Shino," Naruto said. "I didn't think you were the type."

"It wasn't a prank, she wanted to see it."

"I didn't know it was gonna be a giant ugly roach!"

"Stay still," Kankuro said, walking to Mimi.

"No! It feels so gross!" Mimi said, panicking.

"We won't be able to help you get it out if you don't stay still!" Kankuro said annoyed, holding her still with one arm, putting his other arm up her shirt to feel for the bug.

Mimi didn't know what was more embarrassing: the fact that she made herself look like a fool in front of everyone over a bug, or the fact that Kankuro had his hand in her shirt. She felt herself blush furiously as she felt his hands touching her bare skin, giving her goosebumps. She knew it was just a moment, but it felt like forever until he got the bug out.

"Here," he said, giving the bug back to Shino. Mimi cringed that that creature was actually crawling on her, ugh. She was relieved that it was off of her, though. What kind of weirdo walks around with giant bugs on them?

"Thanks," Mimi said, looking at a nearby tree. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the face after that. "It's not funny!" She said to Naruto, who was laughing at the whole situation.

"Let's go," Kankuro said, walking ahead once again.

The rest of the journey to Konoha was pretty uneventful and less embarrassing...just noisy. Mimi could swear Naruto and Kiba were competing on who could be the loudest. Temari ended up shutting them up eventually, fedup with their constant talking, or yelling, to be exact, with Kankuro agreeing, snidely commenting that sometimes he fears for the future of Konoha.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they approached Konoha's gates, Mimi looked around at all the trees, in awe at the beautiful greenery. She's never been to a place that looked so vibrant and so full of life. There is a part of the Land of Snow that is abundant with plant life, located at the main land toward the south. It wasn't always that way. That portion of the land was renamed the Land of Spring shortly after, but it paled in comparison to how this looked.

"Hey, you're back!" One of the shinobi at the gates said happily to Naruto.

"Hey, Konohamaru! Did I miss anything while I was gone?"

"Not really, except that Sasuke's back in town. He's gonna be here for longer than usual because of Sakura. And he said he wanted to speak to you about something important."

Naruto nodded. "We have a lot of catching up to do. I'll see him and Sakura later after I see Hinata."

After being let through the gates, Mimi looked around, breathing in the fresh, summer air. "No wonder you want to sleep all the time. Living here is like a permanent vacation with this nice weather." She said to Shikamaru.

"Don't excuse his laziness," Temari joked. "So, what do you plan on doing first?"

"Well, after managing to schedule a meeting with the Hokage, probably between eating a horse or taking a nice hot bath in the bathhouse here. I'm all for being one with nature, but bathing in lakes and stuff can be really uncomfortable, and cold as hell."

"I thought you didn't mind the cold," Shikamaru said.

"I don't mind the cold weather, but I'm not crazy. We don't bathe in cold water when it's below zero outside. That's a death sentence."

"I can show you where the bathhouse is," Kiba commented.

"You're shameless." Temari said irritably, scowling at Kiba before turning to Mimi. "We can go together later, if you'd like. I can show you where it's at." She said to Mimi.

Kankuro shook his head, looking toward Naruto when he heard him snicker.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't know why you're shaking your head like that. You're no better," Naruto commented quietly to him, making one of his stupid faces.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, looking at him questionably.

"Don't play dumb," Naruto said, nudging him lightly with his elbow. "...Did you cop a feel on the short girl?" He whispered playfully.

"Oh, that. No, I didn't." Kankuro said flatly, being reminded of the incident that happened while they were coming here.

"You don't have to lie, I'll keep it a secret," Naruto joked.

"I really didn't, though." Kankuro said. "No one else was going to help her except Kiba, and his dog behaves better than he does."

"Yeah right, he's probably a closet pervert like Ebisu-sensei." Konohamaru commented, eavesdropping on the conversation, since they were still near the gates of the village.

"A what? I'm not a 'closet pervert.' Mind your damn business, kid. No one was talking to you." Kankuro said walking away, not wanting to engage in such a stupid accusation from a teenager.

Konohamaru crossed his arms, huffing arrogantly. "That jerk is gonna pay for being mean to me," Konohamaru said to Naruto. "I still remember when he bullied me. I haven't gotten my payback yet."

"What do you have in mind?" Naruto asked, remembering the day when he first came across the sand siblings.

"I don't know, but I'll figure something out." Konohamaru said, rubbing his chin in speculation.

"I think I may have an idea..." Naruto said mischievously. It would be fun to play a prank on him, to be honest. He's always wanted to see a reaction from the usually stoic sand siblings.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A little later, Mimi exited the Hokage's building, Temari waiting for her outside so they can have a relaxing time at the bathhouse. She was looking forward to this all day. She could almost feel the warm, steamy water easing the throbbing pain on her sore feet already from all the walking she did for the past couple of days, though she was still excited to see how everything is going to turn out. Mimi was able to meet with the Hokage next week, which was perfect. It gave her time to review her plan for Suna's repairs and brush up on small details, and gave her time to look around Konoha. From the looks of it, the plan she had for Suna should turn out fine due to their future earning potential. She loved how sometimes all it takes is just numbers to fix an issue. Life would be so much easier if all issues could be solved that way.

Mimi noticed Temari talking with Kankuro about something as she approached her. Mimi approached slowly, looking down at the floor.

"Hey, I already brought an extra pair of clothes for you. I hope you don't mind," Temari said, holding a medium sized bag.

"No, I don't mind. That was thoughtful, thank you." Mimi said.

"Good, let's go. We'll see you later, Kankuro." Temari said. "Follow me." She said to Mimi.

Mimi left quickly with her, looking forward to a nice, relaxing bath, and hopefully forget about a bunch of things she didn't want to remember at the moment...or ever, for that matter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi settled in the hot bath, relieved as she felt all the muscles in her body relax.

"Oh, I needed this," Mimi said, closing her eyes to take in the calming environment.

"Me too," Temari said, getting ready to step in the bath too.

Mimi opened her eyes, nodding in agreement. "I don't mean to be inappropriate, but you have a nice body," Mimi said to Temari, noticing how toned she was. It was small moments like this that she wished that maybe it would have been a good decision for her to become a shinobi. Temari had the advantage of having good proportions too; not too much and not too little.

"Thanks. It won't last much longer, though," Temari joked, running her hand over her abdomen. "I already see a small bump starting to grow."

Mimi took a closer look, noticing it as Temari turned to the side. "Oh, wow, you're right! Have you thought of any names yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Oh, okay. You have a couple of months to think it through." Mimi said.

They were quiet for a couple of minutes, Mimi taking the time to wash herself with a lavender scented soap.

"Hey, can you wash my back? I'll wash yours," Mimi asked Temari, lending her the soap in her hand.

Temari nodded, taking the soap. "Shikamaru's mother is making dinner. You're welcome to come." Temari said as she lathered Mimi's back with soap. "We still haven't shared the news yet with her or Shikamaru's friends."

"Um, well..." Mimi said, unsure.

"Please? I would like Yoshino to know that I have friends besides my two brothers. I already told her you were coming." Temari said.

Mimi smiled. Before moving to Suna, there were few that would consider Mimi a friend. An acquaintance, maybe, but no one ever really got too close. It was a nice thought, having someone who considered her a friend. She thought of Rubi and Ryu, and appreciated the good times they had together. She didn't feel so alone anymore. And she didn't have to ease her loneliness attempting relationships with guys that inevitably failed.

"And to be honest, Yoshino kind of scares me." Temari shamefully added.

Mimi couldn't believe her ears. "Wait, did you say what I think you said?"

"Don't tell anyone," Temari said sternly.

"Okay, I won't," Mimi said. "Now turn around."

Mimi started lathering Temari's soap to wash her back. "She must be pretty intimidating if she scares _you_ of all people. Does she dislike you or something? Did she even know you guys were together?" Mimi asked.

"No, she doesn't dislike me, and yes, she was one of the few people who knew, not because we outright told her...she kind of forced Shikamaru to admit it, and then scolded him for not introducing me to her. But I kind of feel like I'm walking on eggshells with her, like anything I do can change her opinion about me in a second. I don't know how she'll feel about me getting pregnant before getting married. I'm a bit nervous about that. What if she thinks I'm fast or something?"

"I don't think many people wait to get married before having sex anymore. Have you talked to Shikamaru about it? Maybe he'll know what she thinks about it."

"No, I don't want him to know that she makes me uncomfortable. He'll never let me live it down, especially after I called him a crybaby."

"Well, you're going to find out tonight regardless. The most you can do is hope for the best. If she doesn't approve, what's the worst that can happen? You can't reverse what's already been done. You're pregnant, so you won't have to worry about getting a shiner like Shikamaru did."

Temari laughed at her last comment. "I hope so. Let's finish up and get going. Dinner should be ready soon, and I don't want to be too late."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wow, I can barely believe it," Shikamaru said as he looked at the two babies before him. One of them, a girl with dark skin and golden eyes, like her mom, and a baby boy, with pale, white skin and blonde hair with blue eyes.

"Her name is Chocho," Choji said proudly as the baby girl looked at Shikamaru curiously.

"And what's his name?" Shikamaru asked, looking at the baby boy, who started to cry when Shikamaru spoke.

"Inojin," Sai said, picking the baby up, the baby quieting down afterward. "He'll stop crying once he gets used to hearing you. He gets nervous when he hears someone new around him."

"Oh," Shikamaru said in a lower voice.

"Darn, I must have run out...Shikamaru!" He heard his mother call out. "I need you to go to the store for me!"

Shikamaru groaned in annoyance.

"_Now!_"

"Can't someone else go?" Shikamaru asked, sighing heavily.

"Ino and Karui are helping me in the kitchen. Stop being lazy!"

Shikamaru looked up to the ceiling as if it were going to answer why he was put to deal with this. "Ugh, fine. What do you need?"

"I need more rice. And answer the door!" Yoshino ordered as there was a knock on the door.

"Whatever," Shikamaru said, opening the door to see Kankuro. "Oh, hey. Come in."

"Hey, is Temari here yet?"

"No, but she should be on her way."

"Shikamaru, go to the store, NOW!" Kankuro heard someone say from within the house, causing a baby to start wailing...or laughing...were there two babies in there? Oh, great. Just great.

"Alright, already!" Shikamaru said, annoyed.

"He gets nervous when he hears loud noises," Kankuro heard a familiar voice say.

"He seems to get nervous for a lot of things," Another voice that he recognized as Choji's said.

"Can you go to the store for me?" Shikamaru asked, turning to Kankuro again after snapping at his mother.

Kankuro looked past Shikamaru for a moment, wanting to cringe as the baby continued to cry.

"Sure. I can go for you." Kankuro offered, not wanting to hear the sounds of a crying baby.

"You're awesome for that." Shikamaru said, relieved. "My mom said she needs a bag of rice."

"No problem."

"Shikamaru, who is that at the door?" Ino asked.

"It's Kankuro. He's going to the store to get the rice."

"Why are you sending him to the store? He's a guest! I taught you better manners than that!" Yoshino said angrily.

"Too late, he already left," Shikamaru said, waving Kankuro to leave quickly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Happy for a reunion once again, Team 7 sat at a table in a restaurant, eating a nice dinner together, enjoying the evening since the weather was so nice today. It seemed to be a nice, calm evening in all of Konoha, its residents laid back, appreciating the peace and tranquility that has been granted to them.

"I thought Hinata was coming," Sakura said, taking a bite of her food as it got served on the table.

"She was feeling tired, so she stood with Hanabi. I was gonna cancel, but she said it wasn't necessary and insisted I go see you guys. She knows it's been a while since I've talked to Sasuke."

"She's way too nice to you." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Oh shut up," Naruto said jokingly. "What about Sai and Ino? I thought you invited them, Sakura."

"I did, but they already had plans."

"I guess it's just the original team seven, then." Naruto said.

"All we're missing is Kakashi," Sasuke said.

"He's been so busy, lately," Sakura said. "With all the mission requests from other nations, he's having so much to handle."

"From the way it sounds, I'm assuming it didn't spread to Konoha," Sasuke said to Sakura. "Thank goodness."

"What didn't spread?" Sakura asked, confused.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto after taking another bite of the salad he ordered with extra tomatoes. "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The whole Land of Wind was frozen over. I was in a village there when it hit. I figured you might know something about it; that's why I wanted to talk to you."

Naruto nodded. "I was sent to Suna because Gaara suspected something was going on. Let's just say that situation is dealt with."

"Are you sure? I have a bad feeling about this." Sasuke said. "Do you know who was responsible?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto in disbelief as he anticipated what he was going to say. "No...it can't be..."

"Yeah...Orochimaru is alive and well again. But from the looks of it, he doesn't have Kabuto at his side this time." Naruto said seriously, finishing his plate of food. "Kabuto's starting a new life up North, apparently. And in this day and age, I wouldn't consider Orochimaru that much of a threat. Konoha can stop him from any plans he has up his sleeve."

"That's not a good sign." Sasuke said. "We can't underestimate the both of them. Kabuto's bound to start trouble up North eventually no matter how hard he tries to be someone he isn't. All they need is to offer a good deal that'll benefit him and he's down to do anything. And all of us know Orochimaru simply cannot be trusted. I would know of all people. If he has the potential to be involved in freezing the world over, there'll be no limits to his motivations."

"Have you guys told the Hokage about this?" Sakura asked. "This is serious. There's potential for future problems arising if this isn't investigated early."

"Yes," Sasuke and Naruto said in unision.

"He's communicating with Gaara getting a plan ready just in case the worst happens," Naruto said.

"I hope nothing comes of this. To think those two would learn after all that has happened..." Sakura said.

"We all hope so," Naruto said, agreeing.

As they finished their food, Konohamaru rushed into the restaurant, spotting Naruto through the window.

"Hey Naruto, there you are!" Konohamaru said, casually walking in the restaurant and sitting next to Naruto at the table.

"Hey, Konohamaru."

"So, they've been spotted near Nara territory. Are we still on?" Konohamaru said in a tone as if they were about to do an S-rank mission.

"You bet," Naruto said mischeviously. "I can't wait."

"What are you guys talking about?" Sakura asked, not liking the sound of it.

"We're gonna play a prank on someone," Konohamaru said proudly. "And it's revenge...best served cold."

Naruto and Konohamaru started laughing, giving each other a high five.

"Aren't you too old to be playing pranks on people, Naruto?" Sakura said, lecturing him. "I thought you stopped that type of behavior a long time ago. You're about to have a child, for God's sake! You'd better stop acting like one."

"You are completely right, Sakura," Naruto said in mock maturity. "However, there are some things in life you can't turn down."

"You guys are being stupid." Sasuke said.

"Oh, come on, Sasuke, haven't you ever wondered how one of the sand siblings would react to my sexy jutsu?" Naruto said.

"If I didn't react to your jutsu, what makes you think Temari would?" Sasuke said, figuring that it was Temari who was being referred to, since she visits Konoha often. "And I don't think Shikamaru would find it funny, either." Sasuke added, after being informed by Naruto of their engagement.

"Oh, but it's not Temari we're talking about." Naruto said, smiling.

"Really? Is the Kazekage here?" Sasuke asked, getting interested. It would be interesting to see how Gaara would react to it.

"No," Konohamaru said. "It's his jerk brother."

"Hm, that is interesting," Sasuke said, pondering.

"Don't tell me you're going to take a part in this!" Sakura said to Sasuke.

"No, I'm actually ready to go back home and rest. Let's go, Sakura. I can tell you're tired." Sasuke said, requesting the bill. "I'll pay this time, Naruto. Tell me how it goes," he said, smirking.

"You can't be serious..." Sakura said, sighing, rubbing her swollen belly, as if her future child understands the shenanigans she puts up with. But she was secretly interested in the prank too, planning to ask Sasuke about it when Naruto blabs to him what happens.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro walked back to Shikamaru's from a nearby store, seeing the house close by. He hoped the baby stopped crying. He didn't like babies much, or any kid, for that matter. Most of them were annoying, and babies can't tell you what's wrong with them...and they drool everywhere. He couldn't believe Temari was going to have one...eventually he'll have to learn how to put up with Temari's kid. He wasn't looking forward to that. As the house got closer, he started hearing rustling in the bushes and trees around him. Kankuro stopped for a moment, looking around. He knew there were deer around here, and he shrugged, continuing to walk. But when he heard the rustling a second and a third time, he had a feeling it wasn't a deer. He was being followed, he knew it.

"Who's there?" He asked, scanning the area.

There was a long silence, and then he heard a voice.

"Over here..." he heard a female voice say. It was coming from behind the tree closest to him.

"What the hell..." He said, walking toward the tree.

What he saw behind the tree wasn't what he expected, and he was hit with...confusion.

"Hello, Kankuro," A blonde, naked girl said to him, clouds surrounding her most intimate parts.

Kankuro stood there for a moment, raising a brow. What was a blonde naked woman doing standing alone in Nara territory? It just didn't add up. "Is this some kind of joke?"

In an instant, the naked woman turned into a disappointed Naruto. "Sheesh, you're boring."

"What was the purpose in that?"

"To see how you'd react."

"What are you even doing here?" Kankuro said, unimpressed. "Did you get invited for dinner too?"

"Don't worry, Naruto! All hope isn't lost!" Kankuro heard someone say from behind him before Naruto could answer.

"Not you again," Kankuro said after seeing who it was. "What do you want?"

"Revenge," Konohamaru stated, as if this were a reunion that was destined to happen. "Is this jutsu good enough for you?" He said, turning into a naked clone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I don't know what happened, we just found him unconscious on the ground like that when we were walking over here," Temari said to Yoshino.

"He probably got into a fight. He has blood all over his face," Mimi said.

"Well, I hope he's alright. At least he got the rice. Dinner should be almost done." Yoshino said.

"He should be fine." Ino said, cleaning the blood off his face with a small damp towel.

"You had one job, Kankuro..." Shikamaru mumbled, shaking his head. He didn't even want to hear the lecture his mom was going to give him later. But come on, what are the chances of this happening?

"Hey look, he's waking up," Mimi said, rushing to him. "Kankuro, what happened? Are you alri-oh, he knocked out again!"

"Just leave him alone, he'll be fine," Ino said, pulling Mimi away.

_Later..._

Everyone was chatting casually, having side conversations and enjoying the dinner that was made, with Yoshino, Choji's mother, and Ino's mother admiring the babies. They had come soon after Mimi and Temari, happy to have a get together in Yoshino's like old times.

"Why didn't your dad come? He never turns down being invited to dinner," Shikamaru asked Choji, who was happily eating a second plate of food.

"He says it's just not the same anymore," Choji said sadly. "We were gonna just stay home with him, but he wanted to be alone for the night."

Shikamaru understood. It was just a painful reminder that he was the only one left. As much as he liked coming over for dinner, he wouldn't really be happy, and he didn't want sympathy from everyone else. Shikamaru looked around, lost in thought. If only Dad and uncle Inoichi could see all of them now...Ino and Choji already married and with a kid, and him about to follow in their footsteps. Which reminded him why he wanted his mother to organize this whole thing; to officially announce his engagement and future child.

Kankuro woke up, looking around to register where he was.

"Feeling better?" Temari asked, after noticing he was awake. "You might want to go wash your face."

Kankuro looked in a nearby mirror, noticing that the bottom half of his face had no paint.

"Ino wiped it off. There was blood all over your face. What the hell happened to you?" Temari said.

"Nothing." Kankuro said.

Temari knew that when he said that, there was no pushing it out of him. He'll spill it to her eventually, though.

"Come here, Ino missed a spot," Temari said, licking her thumb and wiping the blood off his face.

Kankuro smacked her hand away, annoyed. She knew he hated it when she did that. "Stop that shit, I'm not a kid. I can wash my own face." He said, standing up.

"Bathroom's down the hall to the left," Temari said, smirking.

Kankuro rinsed his face when he got to the bathroom, looking at himself into the mirror in front of him. He stood there for a minute, contemplating whether he should keep his paint off. It's not like he needed to keep it on anymore. He sighed. Every time he found himself in this situation, the same thoughts would come to his mind, with the same result. He could never bring himself to do it, and as if it was instinctual, he reached into his pocket, taking out his paint, to reapply it on his face once again.

"Well, isn't he a cutie?" Mimi said, after being allowed to hold Inojin as he gave her a blank look. She was eyeing the babies since she got in, and was dying to play with them at least for a little bit. Unfortunately Chocho had fallen asleep, so all she could do was look at how cute she was.

"I take it you want kids of your own one day," Sai said to Mimi.

"Um, well, I'm pretty undecided about that, actually." Mimi said. "It would be nice, I guess."

"Oh, I see," Sai said, giving off a weird smile that looked forced. "You just can't find a guy who would even want to settle down with you. From your unique appearance, it would make sense why finding a husband would be difficult. But I assure you it is possible. I've seen much worse."

Mimi's eyes widened, needing a minute to register what he just said. Did he just-?

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Mimi said, eyeing him angrily. What did he mean by "unique appearance?" Looking at Ino, she would imagine Sai had pretty high standards for a woman's appearance. She's gorgeous. She makes that girl Yujiro cheated on her with look extremely plain. Regardless, he had some guts heavily implying to someone he just met that they were ugly and had very little to no chance of getting married.

Before Sai could reply (which was probably best he didn't bother to answer), Inojin ended up spitting up all over Mimi's shirt before crying loudly.

"Aw, poor baby," Mimi said, trying to comfort him.

"Sai, don't just stand there, take Inojin!" Ino said, rushing to Mimi. "I'm sorry." She said apologetically.

"Oh, don't be sorry, it's okay. I can clean this off easily, I'll be right back." Mimi said before heading toward the direction of the bathroom.

"Hey, wait a sec," Ino said to Mimi before she walked to the bathroom.

"Huh?"

"I forgot to tell you...my husband can be a bit...socially inept sometimes. Please ignore him if he says something offensive. He doesn't mean it."

"Oh, okay," Mimi said, nodding her head in understanding. A part of her wondered how a social butterfly like Ino, with all her charisma, would end up with a social retard like Sai. Opposites attract, she guessed.

"He already told you something, didn't he?" Ino said angrily, after seeing the look on Mimi's face. "It hasn't even been five minutes of speaking to you. I swear, this guy has no filter..." Ino said, before storming off.

Mimi quickly rushed to clean herself off in the bathroom, not wanting to hear what Ino had to say to Sai. Since the door was already open, she walked in, surprised to see Kankuro already there, finishing putting paint on his face.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were in here," she said. "You wear that paint like it's a second skin." Mimi joked.

"Yeah..." was all Kankuro could say as he faced Mimi, creating an awkward silence.

Kankuro felt himself tense up, being reminded of the events that occurred earlier.

"Why're you staring at me like that?" Mimi asked, noticing his wide-eyed expression as if she grew an extra head. Then she remembered why she came in here in the first place. "Oh, you're staring at this? It was the baby. I was actually going to clean myself up. He's really cute though..."

_Don't picture her naked. Don't picture her naked._ Kankuro repeated to himself. But the more he tried not to think of it, the more the image of that stupid jutsu popped up in his head. He swears to God the next time he sees that kid he's gonna suckerpunch him so hard he won't know what hit him.

"...I'm happy Temari brought me here. Anyways, I hope the baby girl wakes up before it's time for me to leave," Mimi continued as she wiped her shirt clean. Luckily he didn't spit up too much. "Are you alright?"

Kankuro felt his face heat up as he imagined a naked Mimi standing in front of him.

"Hey, your nose is bleeding," Mimi said, getting a tissue to wipe the blood off.

"Huh?" Kankuro said, putting his hand to his face. "Damnit."

Mimi gently wiped the blood off, taking off a small part of the paint he just put on as well. "You might have to fix your paint again," Mimi laughed softly.

Kankuro smirked. "That's okay."

Mimi looked up at him, the thought of why he always wore the paint popping up in her head again. She's still never seen him without his paint or his hat, but at this point it was just bad timing. She wasn't around during the rare moments he had it off or she was busy doing something else. In reality, it wasn't all that important, but she just couldn't understand why such a good looking guy would hide behind baggy dark clothes and face paint. The look was creative, and she actually liked it a lot, but she had a feeling there was more to why he dressed like that than he says. Just like Gaara's apparent hidden history, she knew there had to be more to this than "I do it because I can", like she would hear him tell other people.

"I thought you could clean your own face, baby brother," Temari mocked.

Mimi turned around to see her standing outside the bathroom with her arms crossed.

"Shut up," Kankuro said, snatching the tissue from Mimi's hand to wipe the rest of it off himself.

"I was wondering where you guys went off to." Temari said. "Shikamaru already shared the news with everyone. Yoshino's happy about it, thank goodness. She said she's dying for a grandchild."

"That's great, Temari. I'm happy for you." Mimi said. "Sorry I wasn't there. Inojin spit up all over me and I had to clean it up."

"Ew," Temari said.

"I don't know why you sound all grossed out. It's something you're gonna have to get used to." Kankuro teased.

Temari scowled at him.

"There you are, Temari. Why are all of you standing in the bathroom?" Shikamaru asked.

"Avoiding small talk with Sai," Mimi joked.

"Oh, I see you've become the new victim. Did he give you a nickname yet?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, but he implied I was ugly and said I'll never find a husband, if that counts."

Kankuro laughed. "Damn, that's cold."

"I don't know why you're laughing. He calls you a creepy objectophile." Temari said.

"And he called you a brillow pad head." He retorted.

"Yes, he _called_ me a brillow pad head. That was his first and last time." Temari said with slight annoyance as if reliving the memory. "I kindly showed him one of my wind techniques after that. He never said it again."

Mimi gulped imagining Temari attacking the poor guy with that fan that looked heavier than her own weight. Sai didn't sound like he got along well with many people, but after Mimi left the bathroom it seemed like Ino told him a thing or two, because he said an apology that sounded very forced and resorted to calling her a munchkin after frantically browsing through a book that he had. Well, that was better than what he implied before. At least he tried. It was quite funny to see him flip through his book when he had trouble thinking of what to say to people, but Ino had told her he had been much worse, and insisted that regardless of his setbacks, his intentions were pure. Easy for her to say, since he called her "Miss Beautiful" and "Gorgeous."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After a long evening of playing with babies and meeting new people of different personalities from the gluttonous to the socially disadvantaged, Mimi was drained, and was thankful to be in a small motel room in Konoha looking at the view of what were apparently the faces of all the Hokages. Temari had offered her to stay over, but Mimi insisted that she was fine in the motel room. She just needed time to recharge on her own, and thought of what she could plan tomorrow after organizing the paperwork she had to give to the Hokage for next week. Kiba did offer to show her around. Maybe she could take that offer.

Throwing herself on the bed, she looked up at the ceiling, hoping the Hokage will be content with the plans she has. From her impression of him, he seems pretty laid back, which was ideal. She thought the Hokage was going to be all super serious like the Kazekage, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but she hated the feeling of having to walk on eggshells with people, and did her best to avoid it as much as possible. And from her past experience, she's never had much luck with authority figures. Generally, it was best for her to avoid them.

Taking a deep breath, she eventually lost consciousness, drifting into sleep, dreaming of a certain someone, a smile on her face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_At the Land of Snow..._

"I'm sorry, but you don't qualify for the loan." A chestnut haired man said unapologetically to a defeated looking Kabuto.

"Why not?" Kabuto asked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Yakushi. But you simply don't have enough identification to verify that you would be able to pay it back in a timely manner." The loan officer said to Kabuto, leaning back in his chair casually.

"Please, isn't there any way you can make an accommodation for me? This is to build a pediatric hospital," Kabuto said to the loan officer. "Please, I beg you. Is there nothing you can do?"

The loan officer smirked. "Okay, I think I can do something for you since you sound so sad. I can bend the rules a little for you...for a price."

Kabuto's eyes widened. "What do you want?"

"Well, if you give me a little something under the table, I can...talk to some people to get you what you need." He said smugly. "Maybe a little down payment...or anything equally valuable." He told Kabuto, smirking.

As tempting as that sounded, Kabuto really didn't have anything to offer at the moment...but that didn't mean he couldn't find something.

"Look, since you seem pretty adamant about this, I'll keep my offer open. Come back anytime you want, and we can discuss things more in depth when you're ready." The loan officer continued. "Deal?"

"Deal." Kabuto said, walking out in disappointment.

He hated that every time he wanted to do something for the greater good, there was always a catch. No matter what he did, there were always opportunities that led him astray. But he didn't have a choice. He had to think of a way to get the loan for this hospital. It would be for a better benefit in the long run, most definitely. The queen was able to fund the orphanage, but it would be too much to open up a hospital with the royal budget. The royal budget was used for maintaining public services that were free for their citizens. Though they had enough to fund the orphanage that he grew up in, there simply wasn't enough to open up a hospital; their island was pretty much a small nation. They were known for using their resources wisely. So what was he to do?

Luckily, he came across an opportunity as if fate were speaking to him, bumping into a person that didn't look like they were from around here. After making small talk and talking about the places he's been to around the world, he sadly explained the situation he was in.

"Well, it seems as if you're in luck. You see, I'm from the Land of Wind," the person said. "Me and a couple of my acquaintances have been looking for an individual that we've vested a particular interest in. The problem is, he's not easily defeatable, and we need to find out a way to lure him to be alone. Ever snuck in a village before?"

Kabuto nodded. "Many times."

"You're the perfect person that we need. They'll figure us out easily and we'll be executed if we attempt to sneak in Suna. We need this guy." The person said, showing Kabuto a picture of a familiar puppeteer, clad in black with his trademark face paint. "This guy...he'll be a perfect weapon for us to use to gain our revenge. Word has it he made a pretty huge name for himself his last mission up here. If you want to work with us, we'll offer you one of our most valuable puppets that you can give to the loan officer. There are a lot of collectors in this country that'll pay a good price for the puppets. He'll take it like candy. It'll be a fair trade if you're able to get this guy alone and vulnerable."

Kabuto smirked. This was a perfect opportunity. "Luckily, I know exactly who he is."

"Awesome. So you'll be able to do it?"

"Yes, I would...just give me some time to spy on him. I'll report to you a perfect plan once I get enough information."

"So we have a deal?"

"We have a deal." Kabuto said, laughing evilly. He had to admit, as wrong as this was, it felt so right. And it was for the greater good for the future, right? So how bad could it be?

"Oh, I forgot to ask you, what's your name?"

"Kabuto. And yours?"

The man smirked. "I like you. You're straightforward. My name is Dami. Dami Shirogane."

**A/N: Sorry I took long. But I haven't forgotten, and am working on new chapters. More to come!**


	12. Festival, Fangirls, and the Middle

**A/N:** **Welcome, new followers. I really appreciate you guys and I hope you are enjoying the story. Your satisfaction means so much to me. ^^;**

***Reference to the Rock Lee spin off series. ;D**

The bright sun beamed radiantly through the window, shining on Mimi's face, waking her from her slumber. She sat up, looking around. From the way the sun was shining, she must have slept through the morning. As she checked the time on the nighttable next to the bed she was on, her predilections were right. It was already fifteen minutes to noon.

"Shit," Mimi said to herself, getting up quickly. She hated it when she did that. But it's not like she had much to do anyway. She already had everything ready for the Hokage. So what was she to do now...with a bright day like this with such nice weather, she didn't want to spend it being a hermit locked up in her motel room. She wanted to leave those habits behind her in the Land of Snow.

A half an hour later, she was already freshened up and ready to go outside to check out what Konoha had to offer. The people here were really welcoming. There had to be something for her to do, and Kankuro probably left his room already; he was in the one next to hers.

Wandering aimlessly around Konoha for a while, she tossed the apple core she was holding in the trash, and sat down against a nearby tree, sitting in silence. This really was a beautiful village. The air was nice and fresh, but that would be obvious, being that there were so many trees around. The trees rustled softly, relaxing Mimi. Wait a second...why were the trees rustling? There was no wind right now.

Standing up to find the source of where it was coming from, she wandered off the road into the trees, following the noise as quietly and as stealthily as she can. As she tiptoed toward the sound, making sure to stay hidden within the trees, she saw a man climbing a nearby tree, digging in the bark as if looking for something. He had a long lab coat and huge goggles on as if he were some type of scientist. Mimi watched him for the next couple of minutes, as she observed that he was taking out some bugs that were residing inside the tree. Why was he doing that? Walking closer, exposing herself from the trees, she stood there, looking up at him as he was collecting the bugs and putting them in the jar that he had.

When he finished, he hopped down, and was startled to see Mimi standing there.

"Don't move!" The man warned, taking out some type of walky talky. "We have an intruder, female, black hair, under five feet, purple dress."

An intruder? What was he talking about? "Hey, I'm not an intruder!" Mimi said.

"Don't try to run away. We already have you surrounded." The man said seriously, his skin turning black...wait, that wasn't his skin turning black. There were just bugs crawling all over him!

"Ew!" Mimi said, backing away. "Don't touch me!"

But when she backed up, there was already someone behind her, and then she noticed that she was already surrounded by a bunch of scientists dressed similarly to the one she had been watching originally, with giant coats and huge glasses.

"How did you get in here? This is Aburame territory. You're not supposed to be here." The man asked, hand raised with an army of bugs coming out of his sleeve...well, that's what it looked like.

Mimi was unable to say anything. Looking at the bugs crawling out of him like that was creepy and disgusting. So much for feeling welcome.

"Answer the question or suffer the consequences!" One of the other scientists threatened.

"I don't know, I wasn't doing anything! I was just walking around and I got curious when I saw him taking bugs out the tree!" Mimi said, not wanting to imagine what they could do with those bugs...probably make them crawl all over her and then she would die of terror...or repulsion.

"How do we know you weren't trying to spy on us to find out about our research?" Another scientist asked.

"Why would I want to do that? I don't even know what you're researching." Mimi said.

"We're going to have to take her in for questioning." The guy she had been watching said.

"What?! But I didn't do anything!" Mimi exclaimed. "Don't touch me! You're all gross!"

Mimi tried to struggle to get away from them, not wanting any of the bugs on them to touch her. It was just her luck to get caught up in a situation like this...it was like those nightmares where you're in a room surrounded by a bunch of roaches and water bugs and you can't escape. Just thinking about it was making her cringe.

"She's resisting arrest!"

"You're all putting your nasty bugs on me, that's why! Get off of me!" Mimi said, moments away from getting a panic attack. These guys were absolutely gross, letting dirty bugs, probably with a bunch of diseases and parasites, crawl all over their body. She didn't want to contract anything that might be contagious, for one, and secondly, they must be crazy if they thought that she was going to stay still as they tried to hold her down with creepy crawlers everywhere. She was starting to reconsider ever coming back to Konoha after this. Just when she thought it was the perfect setting to be in the summer...she should have known it was too good to be true.

"Taking her in for questioning won't be necessary," Mimi heard a familiar voice say. When she turned to see who it was, she saw it was Shino.

"We had agreed to meet up here yesterday. She's with me," he continued. "Sorry for the misunderstanding. She must have wandered off while she was waiting for me. I had gotten pretty busy."

This caused all of the scientists to back off, and eventually they all left, apologizing.

Mimi took a deep breath, relieved, but extremely annoyed, nonetheless.

"Who were those scientists? Why are they all gross! Who do they think they are, putting their nasty bugs on me! They probably have all types of diseases..." Mimi ranted after they all left.

"You're welcome." Shino said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice after letting her let off steam, not appreciating such direct insults to the nature of his clan. He was used to hearing this kind of ignorance from outsiders. It never made him happy.

Mimi calmed down, realizing that even though she had just been interrogated, he just saved her ass. "...Thanks," Mimi said, feeling stupid. For them to not even question him, he must be highly respected. He didn't _have_ to lie for her.

"Take it as my apology for embarrassing you the other day." Shino said. "And they aren't normal scientists. They're scientists that are shinobi for the Aburame clan. We are very protective of our research. Don't take their skepticism of you personally. It's because they have to be."

"Oh..." Mimi said. "So you're apart of this clan." She asked, feeling even more stupid for not realizing he himself was one of those shinobi, and she just accused him of having diseases and parasites. She should have made the connection.

"Yes." Shino said. "If you want, I can show you some stuff commonly known about our clan."

Mimi looked at him, unsure. If his clan was all about bugs, she wasn't certain if she would really be so excited about it.

"I have some bugs that you might actually be interested in. They won't touch you if I won't let them." Shino assured, seeing the look on her face.

Mimi stood quiet for a minute, trying to make a decision. She felt that she should at least give it a chance since he did her a favor. It can't be that bad. And he did say he won't let them touch her. "Okay," she finally said, with a hint of reluctance. "So, you can talk to bugs?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, have you seen Mimi? She wasn't in her room when I knocked." Kankuro asked Temari as she opened the door. He planned to show her around Konoha since her appointment with the Hokage wasn't until next week. He was supposed to keep an eye on her for suspicious behavior, after all, even though Temari had spilled to him why she had been acting weird after Gaara had assigned her to do this. He figured Temari would know because he could tell they were sharing secrets again. Apparently, Kanjo was actually right for once. It was something pretty insignificant.

"No, I haven't." Temari said, confused. "You mean you haven't seen her?"

"No, I thought she'd be with you since she wasn't in her room. It's not like she knows the place."

"Hn, that is weird. I'll help you look for her."

Kankuro hoped Mimi wasn't doing anything she wasn't supposed to. It would be really disappointing if it turned out that she was a traitor of some sort. He didn't like the thought of that. He highly doubted she was planning something malicious, but he hoped that she wouldn't be foolish enough to wander around Konoha on her own when she didn't know the area. That's asking for trouble.

"We can check the Hokage's building and the bathhouse. Those are the two places she's been." Temari said as they walked the streets of Konoha.

Mimi was nowhere to be seen near or around the Hokage's building, and Kankuro waited outside as Temari went to check in the bathhouse. As he stood casually waiting for her to return, he laid eyes on a familiar brown haired twerp that he vowed to knock out the next time he saw him. The moment the kid saw that Kankuro noticed him, he immediately started to run.

"Oh, no you don't! Come back here, you little runt!" Kankuro yelled, going after him.

Konohamaru dashed past the crowd of villagers that were walking by, almost bumping into one of them as he narrowly avoided crashing into an old lady's vegetable stand. If he was quick enough, he could make a clone to throw off Kankuro and get away, but unfortunately he wasn't that lucky. It didn't take long for Kankuro to catch up to him, and he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, much to Konohamaru's dismay.

"So you think playing dirty pranks are funny, eh? How about I teach you a lesson, just like old times? You don't have your friends here to save you now."

"Get off of me!" Konohamaru said angrily, trying to escape Kankuro's grip. "I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm stronger now, and I'll fight you and win!"

Kankuro laughed at his boldness. "You wanna bet on that? You didn't seem so confident when you were running away from me."

"Leave me alone, you creep!" Konohamaru said, still struggling. "It was all Naruto's idea! Let me go!"

Kankuro smiled mischeviously as he contemplated scaring him a little as payback for that stupid joke of his by using Black Ant. But Konohamaru had something else up his sleeve.

"Please don't hurt me, Kankuro," he heard a feminine voice say in replacement of where Konohamaru was supposed to be.

Kankuro noticed a pair of round, hazel eyes staring up at him, and he immediately let go, annoyed. "Stop playing around. Do you really think I'm going to fall for that?"

"Fight me, then," the clone said.

"No. You're acting like an idiot. Change back first."

"Why do you want me to change back? Too chicken to hit me when I look like your little crush?"

"Stop talking out your ass, kid. I don't have a crush."

"Kankuro!" He heard a familiar, annoying, bossy voice say. "What on earth are you doing? Oh, there she is! You look different, Mimi."

"That's not Mimi," Kankuro said.

"Then who is it?" Temari asked, Konohamaru turning back into his regular self, confusing Temari. "What were the both of you doing?"

"I was trying to teach this twerp a lesson before he started fooling around," Kankuro said, annoyed.

"You started it!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"That was years ago, kid. Get over it."

"Are you two serious right now?" Temari asked rhetorically. "Stop being such a child, Kankuro. He barely looks past fifteen. I thought you grew out of that."

"He's just mad because I played a prank on him yesterday and he fell for it." Konohamaru teased.

"Shut up," Kankuro said to Konohamaru. He didn't need Temari knowing about this. "Let's go, Temari." He said, gesturing her to leave.

"Wait, what prank yesterday?" Temari asked, having an idea where this was going, suspecting this was related to the way she had found him.

"Oh, you mean he didn't tell you?" Konohamaru said to Temari, smiling mischeviously.

"Shut the hell up, kid." Kankuro threatened. "Let's get out of here, Temari. Don't listen to what that twerp says."

"No, go on," Temari said to Konohamaru, smirking, noticing her brother getting red.

"'Shut the hell up?'" Konohamaru mocked before continuing. "Your brother here got all bent out of shape when I showed him a sexy jutsu specially made for him. I don't know why you're trying to hide it. Naruto told everyone already." He taunted. "I'm quite proud of myself. Naruto said I might have finally surpassed him!"

Kankuro wanted to strangle this stupid kid. He knew he should've gotten rid of him years ago.

Temari laughed. It all makes sense now. "Is that why I found you like that on the ground yesterday?"

If Kankuro could hide behind his hood any more than he usually does, it was right now. "Can we just go?" He said. The last thing he wanted was for him to be reminded of what happened yesterday, and he especially didn't want Temari to know, but now it was too late. She was going to make fun of him for ages. It's bad enough he couldn't get the image out of his head last night.

"So you mean you weren't waiting around the bathhouse to see the short girl naked?" Konohamaru continued, teasing him more.

This kid was pissing him the hell off, trying to make him look like something he wasn't. If he wanted to see naked girls, he sure as hell didn't need to peep in the bathhouse like some creep. Losing his patience, he clenched his fist, attempting to hit Konohamaru. "I would never do that, you stupid-"

"Wait a second," Temari said, pulling Kankuro back before he was able to grab Konohamaru again. "So she was around here?"

"Yeah, she was walking around here about an hour ago. I thought she was going to go to the bathhouse like the other girls but she went that way instead," Konohamaru said, pointing in the direction of the Hyuuga territory.

"What would she be doing going over there? She doesn't know anyone from there." Temari pondered. "Let's go. Maybe she wanted to talk to Naruto."

"Consider yourself lucky this time," Kankuro said to Konohamaru.

"Kankuro, stop threatening him. You're not going to do anything," Temari said, grabbing his arm.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No, Naruto's not here. Hinata's mad at him right now." Hanabi said apathetically after answering the door. "Come inside. I can ask Hinata if she knows anything."

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other uncomfortably as they sat and waited. They both knew what the other was thinking. They wouldn't expect that type of behavior from Hinata. Kankuro presumed that maybe it was because she was pregnant and hormonal. If that was the case, he didn't even want to think about how Temari is going to end up. Kankuro mentally concluded that Shikamaru is a masochist. Kankuro has to deal with Temari because she's his sister. Shikamaru _chooses_ to deal with her. He would never choose to deal with a woman who acted like Temari. But he wouldn't go for someone like Hinata either; she was too much of a pushover. He preferred a girl who's not too needy, fairly independent, but shut the hell up when he wanted them to. But that was too good to be true. At this point he was used to not getting what he wanted.

A couple of minutes later, Hinata came with Kiba accompanying her. What the hell was he doing here? Probably trying to be a white knight. He would be that pathetic.

"I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about," Hinata said after being questioned. "Are you sure she was around here? If you ask around, there could have been someone else who could have seen her."

"I can help you find her, too. I'll be able to track her by her scent if she's been around here." Kiba added.

"We don't need your help." Kankuro said bluntly.

"That's actually a good idea." Temari said ignoring her brother's comment. "I hope she isn't doing anything that would get her in trouble. Gaara wouldn't be too happy about that."

But searching around the Hyuga territory proved to be futile. They searched everywhere, and no one had seen her. Giving up, they walked to the exit to leave the Hyuga clan's territory, left at a dead end.

"Wait, I'm catching her scent," Kiba said as they got closer to the exit, following it toward a small fruit stand that was placed near the entrance of the Hyuga territory. "She must have walked past the Hyuga clan territory, but didn't really go inside."

Temari and Kankuro followed Kiba, until they were led to a small road where there were many trees starting to reappear.

"You sure that nose of yours is working right? This is leading to the Aburame Clan's territory. No one goes in here." Kankuro said.

"Yeah, she's here, I'm sure of it."

What the hell would she be doing in the Aburame Clan's territory? This didn't sound good at all. If she was here, then she had to have gotten herself into trouble.

"Ugh, all this walking made me so hungry..." Temari said after her stomach growled loudly. "I want some pickles dipped in peanut butter and melted chocolate...maybe with some kelp on the side."

"What?" Kankuro said, looking at her with a repulsed look. "That sounds disgusting."

"It's the cravings." Temari said. "I'm gonna go get something to eat. You can handle this on your own."

Temari left, leaving to return back to the main streets of Konoha.

There were two shinobi at the entrance of the Aburame Clan's territory, one of them urging them to follow him after informing what they were there for. They were led to a small building, where Kankuro heard Shino talking to someone else.

"This one eats the nectar and leaves from flowers. Its wings can change color depending on its surroundings." Shino said, putting a rainbow colored cloth behind it.

"Oh, that's cool," Mimi said as she saw it change its color before her eyes. She started to take random items, putting it next to the bug to see it change color again.

Kankuro groaned in frustration. He just wasted an hour of his life looking for this midget. If he knew she was here with Shino, he wouldn't have worried so much. But now he was wondering how she got here. Of all the places in Konoha, this would probably be one of the last places she would want to go to, and she was upset with Shino the last time they were all together. She wasn't even supposed to be here. Why would she be hanging out with him? Something wasn't adding up. He hoped she didn't do what he thought she did.

"How did she end up here?" Kankuro asked Shino seriously.

"I'm not sure," Shino said. "She must have slipped through wandering around. The Hokage's been sending people from our clan on so many missions lately. Our security hasn't been as tight because of it. Word of this can't spread. If it goes around that a civilian was able to get in here, the information can get in the wrong hands."

Kankuro nodded, understanding, and visibly upset that she did do what he thought she did. He figured she knew better than to do something as stupid as wander around in one of the most well known ninja villages with well guarded secrets on her own.

As Shino was explaining the details of the situation to Kankuro, Kiba looked around the room full of different bugs before wandering toward Mimi, who was looking at one of the bugs intently.

"I see you've gotten over your bug phobia," He told her.

"Well, not really," Mimi said, looking at the bug. "This one isn't big and creepy looking like the one that Shino showed me the last time."

"If you don't like bugs, then why are you in the Aburame Clan's territory?"

"I came in here by accident." Mimi said. "Shino found me and brought me here. How did you guys find me anyway?"

"I tracked your scent." Kiba said matter-of-factly.

"You can do that?" Mimi asked, eyes widening inquisitively. "That's so cool. Do all people smell different?"

"Yeah," Kiba said.

"How does Shino smell?" Mimi asked, curious.

"Like...bugs." Kiba said, as if stating the obvious.

"I didn't know bugs had a smell." Mimi said, pondering what they could possibly smell like. People from his clan must have a good sense of smell like the dogs. "...What about Kankuro?"

"Hm..." Kiba said, trying to describe his scent into words. "Like paint, sand, and wood."

"Could you smell yourself?" Mimi asked.

Kiba laughed at that question. "Well, I guess so, if I put conscious awareness to it...but I don't see the need to do that."

"How do I smell?"

"Let me see..." Kiba said, leaning down to sniff her.

Shino looked at Kankuro, contemplating. "I might have to inform the Hokage of this incident. But I'm not sure if that'll help; he has enough on his plate already. Mission requests are going to keep coming in despite security measures that have to be taken."

"Maybe you should talk to the leader of your clan first. He'll probably think up alternative options before reporting it to the Hokage directly." Kankuro suggested.

Shino nodded in agreement.

"Kiba, stop," Mimi laughed as she felt him sniffing her neck.

Kankuro and Shino looked toward them, their conversation interrupted by the laughter.

"I should get going," Kankuro said to Shino before walking to Kiba. "Hey, I didn't know you needed to get that close to someone to get their scent, especially since you didn't seem to have a problem finding her beforehand," he said sarcastically, pulling Kiba away from Mimi, causing Kiba to snicker.

"Let's go," Kankuro said to Mimi, taking her by her arm.

"Hey, wait a second!" Mimi said as she was being rushed out of the Aburame Clan's territory by Kankuro. She at least wanted to thank Shino again before she left.

"You're terrible, Kiba." Shino said after they left, more out of amusement than criticism. "You should just leave Mimi alone."

"What'd I do?" Kiba replied, smirking.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro finally let go of her arm once they were some distance away from the territory, back on the dirt path, previously ignoring her demands when she kept insisting to let her go.

"What the hell is your problem?" Mimi asked, frustrated.

"What the hell is _my_ problem?" Kankuro said angrily, mad at the fact that she had the audacity to ask him that. "What's _your_ problem? Are you fucking crazy?! Where's your common sense? Wandering off in a ninja village you know nothing about by yourself is idiotic. I wouldn't have expected that level of stupidity from you."

"Well, I'm fine." Mimi mumbled, a bit taken aback at the tone in his voice. He's never raised his voice at her like that.

"_Fine?_ You resisted arrest from the Aburame Clan! You could have gotten in serious trouble with the Hokage! What would you have done if Shino wasn't there?"

Mimi looked away towards the ground, arms crossed. He had a point. _Damnit, Shino, why'd you have to tell him all of that?_

"You didn't even have the sense to tell anyone where you went off to!"

"Stop yelling at me..." Mimi said meekly, pouting. "I woke up late so I thought you left your room."

"Do you know the type of trouble we would have gotten in if something happened?" Kankuro said angrily. "I had to get that mutt to help me look for you."

Mimi stared at her feet. His temper was worse than Temari's. And he had that angry look again.

"I'm sorry, okay? I know I did something wrong-"

"You did something extremely stupid, actually."

"No need to rub it in my face!" Mimi said, clenching her fists. Now he was just trying to belittle her because he wanted to be a douchebag.

Kankuro had to laugh at her getting mad. She was less threatening than a seven year old Konohamaru.

"Stop laughing at me!" Mimi said angrily.

"What are you gonna do? Wipe me to the floor with your accounting prowess?" He said, amused. "You're going to have to get a ladder, first."

"Oh, so you think you're all high and mighty because you know how to fight?" Mimi replied, ignoring the insult about her height.

"Yes, actually. Now shut up." He said curtly before continuing to walk ahead.

She couldn't even confabulate a reply to that statement. Mimi couldn't believe someone could be so obnoxiously arrogant and rude. Who did he think he was to just tell her to shut up like that? Then again, it was Kankuro. He was worse than Sai. At least Sai tried to be nice.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi sighed, bored as she was sprawled across the bed in her motel room, reading old romance novels she brought with her that Sutera recommended, listening to smooth jazz with low volume on the radio to pass the time. It was already getting dark, and as fun as her day was before _somebody_ ruined it, the rest was wasted in her room because she'd rather be stuck in here than get yelled at by a certain mean person dressed in black. If she was going to have someone show her around, it wasn't going to be him unless he apologized, and that stubborn asshole was never going to do that.

Letting out a deep breath, she scanned the pages of the old paperback, immersing herself in the story. Just as she was about to read the good part of her book, there was a knock on her door.

"What do you want?" Mimi asked as she cracked the door open slightly.

"Still not over your hissy fit?" Kankuro joked.

Mimi frowned. The jerk didn't even care.

"I got you something to eat." He said to her.

"I'm not hungry." Mimi said sharply. Honestly, though, she didn't realize how hungry she was until she saw the food in his hand. All she ate was an apple today, and that was hours ago.

"Stop lying. You've been locked up in there all day."

Mimi slowly opened the door, letting him in. She'll take this as his way of apologizing. "Thank you."

"Whatever," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed, casually picking up the book that she had been reading. "You actually read this crap?"

Mimi couldn't help but crack a smile. As much of a jerk as he can be at times, there was something about it that made her laugh. Deep down, he meant well.

"What's so bad about it? It's just a romance novel." Mimi said, sitting next to him, taking a bite of the food he got her. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for happy endings."

"You don't seem like the type." Kankuro commented.

Mimi shrugged.

"...But I guess it shouldn't surprise me that much with the way you were laughing last night." He snidely added after a moment of silence.

Mimi looked up at him, confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked with her mouth full.

"You mean you don't remember? I could hear you from my room." He teased. "You were talking in your sleep."

"You're such a liar, I don't talk in my-" Mimi replied quickly before her eyes widened as the memory hit her, almost choking on the food she had in her mouth. He was right. She had completely forgotten about the dream she had last night...she was laying in her bed, and a guy had snuck in her room and started to put his hands up her shirt. Her heart started to race as she came to the realization that someone else had heard her, and Kankuro of all people. This was more embarrassing than the incident that happened when they were on their way here...ugh, it was probably that incident that triggered the stupid dream in the first place. She hadn't had a dream like that in ages. She blushed as she started to recall the details. No, she could not admit to this, and she especially can't admit that she liked it.

Kankuro smirked. It was so easy to push her buttons. She wasn't as innocent as she tried to put herself out to be.

"I don't remember." Mimi said with the straightest face she could possibly make.

"Yeah right. You were dreaming about that mutt, weren't you?" He questioned.

"No," Mimi said, annoyed at his boldness to ask something like that so straightforwardly. "Why would you think that?"

"It wouldn't shock me with the way you were letting him touch you earlier."

Is this guy serious right now? What was he implying, that she was promiscuous or something?

"You're taking it out of proportion. He wasn't even touching me." She said defensively.

"That's what you think." He said rudely. "If it wasn't him, then who was it?" Kankuro prodded.

"None of your business." Mimi said stubbornly. There's no way in hell she would ever tell him who she was dreaming about. That would just be stupid, being that she was staring right at the person. She didn't even want to imagine his reaction if he were to ever find out.

"Probably was that stupid mutt." He mumbled.

"You shouldn't call Kiba a mutt, that's not nice," Mimi said. "And why do you even care?"

"Because you didn't come here to look for your next boytoy." He sneered.

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black," Mimi replied. "This is coming from the guy who has a reputation of bringing a bunch of girls home from his missions."

Kankuro smirked. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear. People exaggerate."

Mimi gave him a flat look. "Please."

"Okay, I brought a girl here and there for a couple of nights." Kankuro admitted after seeing the skeptical look on her face. "Gaara just got mad when I brought a whole group of them to Suna one time because he thought I was getting out of hand. In my defense, I almost died in that mission; I wanted to celebrate. Gaara's such a prude, though. He said I wasn't allowed to bring girls anymore."

"You're really something, you know that?" Mimi said, laughing.

"Yeah, I know. Because I didn't listen to him and brought you. Got me in a bunch of trouble. He was so pissed."

Mimi looked down at her feet, unsure what he meant by that.

"But it was worth it. You actually have a brain."

Mimi smiled. That was one of the nicest things someone has told her. "Aw, that's sweet. You do have a heart," she said, putting her hand on his knee as a friendly gesture, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen, and she quickly backed away afterward, feeling a bit guilty. She didn't mean to make him feel uncomfortable.

Kankuro honestly didn't know how to react when she touched him. It kind of caught him off guard, and made him realize that he doesn't really receive that type of affection from people, not that he really liked to. He was never really the type to be that way, but he was internally disappointed when she backed away. It felt nice.

"Hey, if you're done eating that, I can still show you around." He told her after he saw her shift away from him. "There are some nice places that are still open at night."

"Okay," Mimi said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Mimi was sitting outside by a lone tree in an open field with Kankuro, enjoying the light breeze that was brushing past them in the summer air. Konoha had a very interesting and different night life that one wouldn't suspect at all. It was very...unexpected, to say the least.

"I had a great time last night," Mimi commented.

Kankuro nodded, an extremely uninterested look on his face.

"What is up with you? Shouldn't this nice weather put you in a good mood?" Mimi asked him, letting her hair fly around with the breeze.

"I guess. I'd rather be doing something else," he said, sitting with his back against a tree.

"Like what? We've been up almost the whole night. You should give yourself a break."

"For what? This is boring," he said, nonchalantly moving his puppet with strings of chakra. "I haven't had a good fight in a while."

Mimi scooted away from the puppet slightly, eyeing it skeptically. She's seen him use his puppets before, but never this close. She found the puppet cool, but it looked...creepy. And it made weird clicking sounds like if it's coming straight out of those horror movies with haunted dolls. She jumped as it grabbed her hand unexpectedly, Kankuro laughing at her.

"That's not funny," Mimi said, pouting.

"You're such a wimp. You're scared of Crow? He's not going to do anything to you if I don't let him."

"Well he's creepy." Mimi said defensively. "I don't know why anyone would want to fight you when you have that thing anyway. I know I wouldn't."

"I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment," Kankuro said before hearing a familiar bark in the distance. "Oh, great."

"It's Akamaru!" Mimi said as the dog approached them. "Where were you yesterday?" She asked, petting him.

Mimi was right. He didn't notice that Akamaru wasn't with Kiba yesterday. He found that a bit odd. The mutt and his dog were usually inseparable. He hoped that Kiba wasn't around, but he groaned in disappointment as he saw him walking toward them a short distance away. Kiba was getting really fucking annoying, and was tempted to find somewhere else to go when he tried to start a conversation with them.

"I was on my way to meet up with Shino, but Akamaru seems to have spotted you." Kiba said. "I hope he's not bothering you."

"Akamaru would never bother me. I love Akamaru," Mimi said, hugging the dog.

"Want to come with me?" Kiba asked. "Me and Shino are just going to hang out and work on a new ninjutsu together."

"Sure." Mimi said, interested. "Are you going to be working with Naruto?"

"No, he was put to work with us for the mission we just came from, but he's not on our team."

"Oh," Mimi said, a bit disappointed. It would have been cool to see his abilities.

Kankuro scoffed. She doesn't like his puppet, but she likes that damn dog. "Crow will burn that stupid dog in less than a second." He commented.

"Hey, watch your mouth! Akamaru isn't stupid! He'll tear that ugly puppet of yours into shreds!" Kiba said, offended.

"You sure about that? I'd like to see him try." Kankuro said smugly.

"Are you trying to start a fight with me? If you think you'll be able to beat me and Akamaru, you're wrong! I'll beat you in no time!"

"Hn, I thought you'd never ask." Kankuro said, standing up. "I find it funny when people underestimate me. How about you stop barking and show me what you've got, you stupid mutt."

"Kankuro, why are you saying mean things like that? You shouldn't start fights with people," Mimi said, though she was stuck in between not wanting to see a fight, but curious about what they can both do. She never got to see Kiba's abilities. Who would win?

"No, he wants to start a fight, then we'll fight," Kiba said. "You've been pissing me the hell off for a while now. It's about time I shut you up." He said to Kankuro.

"Shut me up? Please," Kankuro said, laughing. "Get ready to take that dumb dog of yours to the vet. I haven't had a good fight in a while, and I don't feel like playing nice."

Mimi looked up at the both of them, seeing the look on their faces. Okay, maybe seeing them fight won't be the best thing right now. And she did not want to see Akamaru get hurt over something this trivial. Akamaru started to get up to walk next to Kiba, but Mimi wrapped her arms around him to stop him. He shook her off fairly easily, getting into a fighting stance next to Kiba.

"Kankuro, please don't hurt Akamaru," she said, standing in front of him when her attempts to keep Akamaru away failed.

Kankuro looked down at her, annoyed at her request. He was getting sick and tired of her trying to stop him from whooping someone's ass when they deserved it.

"Why do you always have to make things so difficult? Get out of my way," he told her, gently pushing her aside.

"No, stop!" Mimi said worriedly, trying to pull him away.

Kankuro sighed impatiently. "Get off of me!"

"No!"

"Ugh, fine, I won't hurt the damn dog. I can't say the same for the mutt. Now let me at him!" Kankuro said, getting out of Mimi's grip effortlessly.

"Who do you think you're calling a mutt? Take that back!" Kiba yelled irately before telling Akamaru to attack.

"Stop it the both of you! This is ridiculous!" Mimi said as they started an admittedly very cool looking fight.

Mimi had a worried look as they kept trying to attack each other. She could barely process what was going on, but she heard Kankuro yell out in pain as she saw Akamaru bite his leg. The fight started to attract a small crowd of other villagers, standing in awe. Eventually the villagers started to put bets on Kiba and Kankuro as the fight progressed. This was getting out of hand. She had to stop this before someone got severely hurt.

"Guys, stop!" Mimi called.

"Stop being such a party pooper, lady," a young male villager that was standing near her said. "I'm putting bets on the Inuzuka."

"Yeah! Kick his ass, Kiba!" Mimi heard someone else say, who was agreeing with the guy who was talking to her. She turned to see that it was the young boy who was at the gates of the village the day before talking to Naruto. Maybe he can do something.

"Hey, can't you do something? Make them stop!" She told him.

"No way! It's about time that sand village jerk learns his lesson! I hope he loses. Then he'll finally learn to stop picking on people smaller than him."

"The fight looks pretty even so far." A boy with glasses about the same age said to him.

"Don't jinx it, Udon!"

"What do you mean he was picking on people smaller than him? Ugh, this is hopeless," Mimi said, sighing. Kankuro isn't really helping his case with the reputation he's put out.

Mimi had to look around for people who looked like shinobi. They'll be able to stop it. Leaving the vicinity of the fight temporarily, she looked around, laying her eyes on a female kunoichi with two buns. She was with a guy dressed in green. He looked pretty fit. They'll definitely be able to help. She quickly rushed toward them, because they were about to turn a corner.

"Hey, wait! Please help!" Mimi called to them.

The guy in green approached her so quickly her brain barely registered when he even turned around when he heard her.

"Did I hear someone call for my help? I cannot turn this down!" The male said.

_Such enthusiasm,_ Mimi thought. Well, she guessed she lucked out on getting help from the perfect person.

"What's going on?" The female kunoichi said, finally catching up to him. "We have to go to the Hokage's office right now, Lee. He assigned us a mission. We don't have time to be sidetracked!"

"There is a villager in need! It is our duty to handle this matter!"

The kunoichi sighed, not even trying to bother to argue with him.

"I don't know what to do, there's a fight going on and I'm afraid someone will get hurt! I figured you guys can use some type of ninjutsu to stop it. It's starting to look pretty dangerous." Mimi told them.

"I do not use ninjutsu," the male in green said. "But I assure you I can stop this!"

Mimi took back her thought on her lucking out. "So you're not a ninja?"

"I am!"

Mimi looked confused. "You're a ninja who doesn't use ninjutsu?"

"Yes," the woman with the two buns said. "Just take us to the fight."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Kiba and Kankuro? Why would these two guys be fighting?" The kunoichi said, confused.

"You know them?" Mimi asked. It seemed everyone knew each other at this point. Maybe being a shinobi was like working in the office in the same profession where everyone knew everyone else.

"Tenten, there is such YOUTH!" The male that the kunoichi called Lee said, eyes sparkling. "They are sparring with all the effort they can! Guy sensei will be proud of their work!"

"They're not sparring! They're really trying to hurt each other!" Mimi told him as she saw fire come from God knows where, burning Kiba's leg. Akamaru was knocked out nearby. She hoped he was okay. There was also a broken puppet on the ground next to Akamaru.

The guy in green wasn't listening to Mimi though. He was starting to cheer on with the crowd, now wearing a cheerleading outfit. Besides the fact that it looked more disturbing than his already cheesy looking green outfit because he was wearing a skirt that didn't flatter him at _all_, she pondered when he even took time between her talking to Tenten and looking back at him to change into it in the first place. Tenten smacked him back to his senses, Mimi questioning the mental state of her comrade.

"We didn't come to cheer them on! Stop being foolish!" Tenten told him.

"We should not interfere with their rivalry! This will only make them stronger. Oh, what I would give to spar with my rival again!" He said, his eyes watering.

"Ugh, you're useless," Tenten said, putting her palm to her forehead in disappointment. "I'll handle this."

In an instant, the kunoichi took out her scrolls, two giant metal balls being thrown in the direction of Kankuro and Kiba.

"STOP IT, YOU IDIOTS!" She yelled, the weapons hitting the both of them, stopping the fight instantly as they fell to the ground, stunned.

"That looked painful," Mimi said, worried. Well, at least it worked. "Kankuro, are you okay?" She asked, jogging toward him.

Kankuro sat up, confused. "What the hell was that?"

"That was me," Tenten said, approaching them. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"What the hell is wrong with _him_?" Kankuro asked Tenten, eyeing Lee questionably. He had resumed dancing in that unsightly cheerleading outfit. Kankuro wished he could unsee that.

"I ask myself that question every day..." Tenten replied, more to herself than to Kankuro.

"This guy's an asshole, that's what's wrong," Kiba commented, coming to his senses after the unexpected attack.

"And? Since when was this news to anyone?" She said to Kiba plainly. "Guys can be so immature sometimes. Alright everyone, there's nothing to see here!" She said to the crowd, and they all dispersed, disappointed.

"Long time no see, Boob Hammer," Kankuro said to Tenten after everything calmed down, causing him to receive a very angered response with a punch to the head.

"Don't call me Boob Hammer! Do you know how long it took for everyone to stop calling me that?!"*** (Refer back to A/N)**

"Ow..."

Mimi looked at Kankuro sympathetically, rubbing the part of his head where Tenten hit him. Mimi was starting to think that his record with people was worse than Sai's.

"See? I told you he's an asshole." Kiba commented.

"Oh, shut the hell up, mutt, before I finish you off." Kankuro replied.

"You weren't even close to finishing me off!"

"The both of you look pretty beat up, to be honest," Tenten said.

"Psh, beat up? I'm fine." Kiba said confidently, standing up, wincing slightly.

Mimi shook her head. She couldn't believe these two hotheads.

"There you are, Kiba. What have you been doing? I've been waiting for you." Shino said, appearing from...Mimi could never tell where the heck he comes from. Sometimes it seems like he just appears out of nowhere.

"They were practicing the philosophy of youth and hard work!" Lee said joyously, now back in his green jumpsuit.

"No they weren't. They were about to rip each other's heads off." Tenten corrected.

Shino sighed as if he anticipated this was going to happen sooner or later. "I knew I should have come to meet up with you instead. Let's go," he said to Kiba, taking Akamaru, who was sleeping a short distance away. They both walked off, Kiba limping a little.

"What happened to Akamaru?" Mimi asked. "Did he get hurt?"

"No. He'll wake up in a couple of hours." Kankuro said.

"Well, I don't have time for this. Come on, Lee. We have a mission to go on." Tenten said, walking off, with Lee following quickly.

"That Lee guy is a bit off, don't you think?" Mimi asked Kankuro after they left. "He said he doesn't even know ninjutsu."

"I wouldn't underestimate him." Kankuro said, standing up. He had to give Lee some type of credit for being the first person to ever hit Gaara in a fight. He had put up a better fight than he expected that day. He knew he would still lose, though.

"Let me help you-"

"I don't need your help, midget."

"Rude, much?" Mimi said, walking with him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the motel room, Kankuro just finished bandaging a wound that was on his leg. He was full of bruises everywhere, including a huge one on his face.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Mimi asked, gently brushing her hand over the bruise.

"Nah, this is nothing." Kankuro said.

"I hope you're proud of yourself," Mimi said flatly as Kankuro was looking at multiple bites on his forearm. "Those bites look really bad."

"The weird thing is I can't tell if it was from the dog or the mutt." Kankuro said.

Mimi sighed, applying healing ointment on the wounds. "That should be the last thing you're worried about."

"I've gotten worse injuries than this. It hurt more when Tenten punched me."

Mimi touched his head, feeling a small bump through his hat. It did look painful when she hit him, but she knew that he was stretching the truth. There's no way a punch like that would hurt more than the rest of the injuries he sustained in the fight. "You shouldn't have called her Boob Hammer. What is that even supposed to mean? It sounds like a bad attempt at flirting."

"Long story," Kankuro said. "She put that nickname upon herself."

"You deserve that bump on your head if that's the way you're going to keep talking to people." Mimi said bluntly.

"That's harsh. She didn't have to hit me so hard. It really hurts."

Mimi rubbed his head again, massaging it gently. Kankuro smirked. It didn't really hurt that much, but he liked it when she touched him. He could get used to that.

"Kankuro, why do you have to resort to fighting all the time?" She asked while massaging his head. He was always arguing with someone.

"Because it's fun." Kankuro said matter-of-factly like that would be a normal answer to such a question. "And that's the way shinobi handle things. What do you expect us to do, talk things out over tea? This isn't a princess party."

"It's not fun when you're full of cuts and bruises. And I don't see any of the shinobi in Konoha doing that."

"That's because they're soft." He said bluntly.

Mimi shook her head. "Why did you pick a fight with Kiba of all people anyway? He didn't do anything to you."

"I was bored and he was there. I don't really like him, either."

"Why not? He's really nice."

"'Really nice?' How? By trying to get in your pants by impressing you with that stupid dog and making up stories to make himself look tough?"

"That's _not_ true." Mimi told him. "You're exaggerating."

"Yes it is. I know what he's doing and it's fucking pathetic. It's your choice if you wanna fall for that. Based on what you've told me you've never had good taste in guys anyway."

Mimi pursed her lips angrily. He was bold to say something like that. Where was all this talk coming from?

"And how do you know that he's doing that? You're not a mind reader!" Mimi told him. "Just because that's what you do to girls that doesn't mean everyone else does."

Kankuro laughed at her accusation. "Don't compare me to that asshat. I don't need animals and fake stories to get girls. I'll never stoop that low and I would never need to. He was a loser when I first met him and he's still a loser now."

"You don't seem to be giving him enough credit. You got pretty bruised up from that loser," Mimi teased, getting an angry look from Kankuro.

"I'll give him credit when he actually beats me in a fight."

Mimi smiled. "I was just joking, no need to give me that death stare, sheesh. Tenten beat the both of you, actually, so she wins."

Kankuro scoffed. She wasn't wrong, though. "Whatever," he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The following days weren't outside of the ordinary for Mimi. She spent most of her time looking around in Konoha with Temari or Kankuro, and sometimes Kiba, to Kankuro's annoyance.

Mimi's meeting with the Hokage turned out to be longer than she expected, and he scheduled another meeting with her for the next week. It turns out that he wants her to look over the financial paperwork for Konoha, too, after she told him about the situation in Suna. She agreed, because knowing Konoha's financial standing would give her an idea on how much they would be able to lend to Suna. Due to all the mission requests from other villages and nations, it seems like Mimi would be able to get them to lend Suna more than anticipated if she played her cards right, and she could help Konoha at the same time. Things seemed a bit disorganized and it doesn't seem like they reevaluated the priorities for Konoha yet due to the huge influx of mission requests.

"I can't believe you agreed to stay here longer," Kankuro told Mimi after they left the office.

"The Hokage wants me to look over some documents for Konoha." She replied, not understanding why that would be such a huge issue.

"We didn't come here for that."

"Well, what was I going to say? I couldn't refuse a request from the Hokage. This could help Suna, too. And I kind of want to help him. He seems overwhelmed."

"Great," Kankuro said unenthusiastically. "This has been one of the most boring missions I've ever been on. It's to the point that I'm hoping there's some rogue shinobi who want to steal Konoha's financial documents so I can get in a really good fight."

"Aw, don't sound so disappointed. Konoha isn't so bad. And I think you've had enough fights for one mission." Mimi told him, amused at his comment about someone planning the financial ruin of Konoha. Though it was definitely possible, it was just funny to imagine that that would be a way shinobi would fight against a village, of all ways to destroy one.

"The fight with the mutt was child's play." Kankuro said arrogantly. "It's just after a while the people get annoying."

Mimi chuckled. "Don't be so misanthropic. You chose to come here." That actually made Mimi wonder why Kanjo wasn't able to come with her. She wasn't informed of the sudden change of plans, but she guessed it was because that piece of information was unimportant, or none of her concern. "And maybe your experience would be better if you didn't start fights with people and pick on kids." She added.

"I don't pick on kids. Who told you that?"

"The boy who was at the gate of Konoha when we came. I bumped into him when he was watching you and Kiba fight."

"Is that what that little runt told you? You forget that he's associated with Naruto. That should tell you how much of a pain in the ass he is."

"What's wrong with Naruto? He's a loudmouth, but he's a good role model." Mimi said.

"That's what you think." Kankuro commented. She obviously doesn't know about Naruto's immature pranks.

As Mimi and Kankuro walked back outside, they bumped into Sai who was walking with Inojin, who was currently sleeping.

"Hello, Munchkin. Hello, Objectophile." Sai said to them friendlily, with an odd smile.

"You can call me Mimi, Sai." Mimi said to him flatly.

"And I'm not an objectophile. Can you stop calling me that?" Kankuro said, annoyed.

"Oh, I take it you're not an objectophile anymore?" Sai asked. "I apologize. I forgot about what Naruto told me. Is it because you're dating? I guess it makes sense that you would be into girls that look like little creepy dolls with no curves."

Mimi looked at him, confused. His insults didn't make sense with the tone of his voice, which was friendly. Should she even be upset? Ino did say he doesn't mean to be offensive...and now she couldn't shake the fact that Kankuro was right about the people getting annoying. Looking at Kankuro, she could swear she could see a vein popping from his head.

"What did Naruto tell you?" Mimi asked curiously. She hoped he wasn't spreading false rumors. That would be lame.

"The other night-"

"Nothing." Kankuro said crossly, interrupting Sai. He couldn't believe that moron told everyone.

Just like before, it seems like Inojin saved his father from anyone's wrath once again, as he distracted Mimi when he woke up, changing her mood when he looked up and smiled at her. Kankuro looked at Inojin curiously as the baby was being entertained by Mimi's cooing noises. Kankuro didn't see the big deal with babies. All they did was eat, sleep, and poop. There's nothing really remotely interesting about them at all. As he was eyeing the baby, Inojin eventually looked at him, and his smile turned into a blank stare before he started to cry loudly.

"What did I do?" Kankuro asked himself.

"Maybe you're just ugly." Sai suggested plainly, shrugging.

Mimi couldn't help but laugh at that comment; his bluntness caught her off guard. Turning to Kankuro, she could swear she saw smoke coming out of him.

"Well, it was nice speaking to you, Sai! See you later!" Mimi said quickly, dragging Kankuro away before anything escalated.

"Do you see why I want to leave now?" Kankuro said heatedly. "Then everyone wonders why I have no patience with the people here."

"Don't listen to what Sai says. We all know he has a couple of screws loose."

"Really? Because it looked like you were agreeing with him." He said, looking at her halfheartedly.

Mimi snickered after recalling what Sai said to him five minutes ago, Kankuro scowling at her indignantly.

"Just because I thought it was funny doesn't mean I think it's true." Mimi said, trying to control her laughter.

"Yeah right."

"Sai says a lot of stupid things. He says everyone's ugly besides Ino and Inojin. You're a good looking guy." Mimi said, looking up at him kindly.

Kankuro looked away shyly. No one's ever told him that when he was wearing his paint and hat on.

Mimi giggled as she saw him blush slightly. She liked getting him flustered; he looked cute. He always tried to be so serious all the time. She had to admit she's gotten quite smitten with him.

"There you are, Kankuro. You said we would meet in front of the Hokage's building. What are you two doing here?" Temari said, eyeing them as she saw Kankuro blushing and Mimi laughing in a small alley some distance away from the Hokage's building. Were they...flirting?

"Avoiding small talk with Sai." Mimi said, getting a look of disbelief from Temari as she had used that line before. "Really, we were. We just bumped into him." Mimi added honestly.

"It's a miracle that guy even got married," Kankuro mumbled.

"I guess there's someone out there for everyone," Temari said.

Kankuro secretly disagreed with that. It was easy for her to say. But that's something he wouldn't share with anyone, not even Temari.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Mimi asked curiously. She hasn't seen him for a while. He was never around when she would spend time with Temari.

"He's with Mirai." Temari said.

Mimi looked at Temari questionably. Temari's not the type to seem insecure, but she still doesn't seem like the type to just let Shikamaru hang out with girls alone.

"She's the daughter of his sensei who passed away." Temari added after seeing Mimi's expression.

"Oh," Mimi said, feeling awkward. Why did she always have to end up reminding people of loss? She was a mood killer without even trying.

"What are you doing later, Mimi? Want to come over? Yoshino has a recipe she wants to share with me. You might be interested." Temari inquired, changing the subject.

That reminded Mimi that she actually had plans with Kiba. She agreed to see him after she left the Hokage's office. "That sounds great, but I have somewhere else to go."

"Running off with that mutt again?" Kankuro commented disdainfully.

Mimi rolled her eyes. "I'll see you guys later," she said, walking away.

Temari gave him a marginally haughty and amused look, smirking as if she were mocking him.

"Come on," Temari said.

As they walked in silence, Kankuro kept glancing at Temari, getting annoyed with the way she was looking at him.

"What? Why do you keep staring at me like that?" He asked.

"Oh, it's nothing...your dislike for Kiba seems so sudden." Temari said smugly.

"I never liked him. He called me a moron and underestimated me, and thinks he's better than everyone. He put his foot in his mouth after I saved his ass. I should have left him for dead that day."

"He doesn't seem so bad." Temari said. "You were stupid for resorting to fighting him."

"He's a loser. The idiot thinks he's a hotshot because he's impressing Mimi with his bullshit. He's not that much of a big deal."

"You're just overthinking things." Temari commented. He was starting to remind her of the way he would act when she would try and go on dates with other guys. _Wait a second, could this mean...?_ "I never asked you anything about Mimi." Temari said, smiling.

"Whatever..." Kankuro said, looking in the other direction.

Temari smirked, raising a brow. She might have caught on to something interesting. Wait till Shikamaru hears about this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After spending the rest of the day with Kiba, the stars were already starting to appear in the night sky, and Mimi and Kiba walked along the now quiet streets of Konoha as all the citizens retired to their home to rest.

"The moon looks so much smaller in this part of the world," Mimi said as she looked up at the sky.

"Is that so? I never paid much attention to that," Kiba said.

"Have you ever traveled North?" Mimi asked.

"Not that I remember," Kiba said. "I've been on so many missions that I've lost track."

"Oh," Mimi said, changing her attention to her surroundings as she walked with him. She felt something brush against her hand, noticing that Kiba was attempting to hold it. She let him, not really paying much mind to it. Looking toward the ground, she sighed internally. She knew there was something wrong here. Kiba was a great guy, and she enjoyed his company. But to get to know him more to keep dating in the future...for some reason, it just didn't settle well with her. Isn't she supposed to feel some type of happiness that he was trying to hold her hand, instead of indifference? But Rubi told her that sometimes she just needed to give things a chance because some things take time. Trying to take her advice, she tried to strike up more conversation while they were walking in silence. "So, where's Akamaru? I haven't seen him with you these past couple of days."

"He tends to disappear sometimes, but he always comes back." Kiba said. "There's a female dog he's been spending time with. They've been together for a while."

Mimi couldn't help but feel crestfallen. Even the dog has a better love life than she does. Apparently Akamaru's been able to hold a stable relationship too. Isn't that something. "That's...cute," she said.

"He's probably home by now, though. Want to come over to my place? He'll be happy to see you."

"Sure," Mimi said.

But at Kiba's place, Akamaru was already sleeping soundly. Looking around, his home looked like that of a typical bachelor.

"Aw, I don't want to wake him up. He looks so peaceful." Mimi said.

"It's alright. Come, sit down," He told her. "Do you want some tea or something?"

"No thank you."

Sitting down next to her, he gently put his hand on her lap. "I hope you like it here in Konoha."

"I love it here..."

"I'm glad," he said, leaning closer to her.

Before Mimi could realize it, their lips were an inch away from each other, and so many thoughts started whirling around in her head. The advice of Rubi telling her to give things a chance kept repeating in her mind, but the feeling in her gut was betraying what her thoughts were continually telling her. Why wasn't she excited, or nervous from anticipation? Wasn't she supposed to feel something...giddy, at least? Or was she just overthinking this? Maybe reading those romance novels during her spare time wasn't the wisest thing. Did it raise her expectations? But when she thought of a person who made her feel something, someone she secretly thought about all the time, someone who kept her on her toes and who was so easy to talk to, and kept her interested, someone she wouldn't _mind_ kissing...she just now realized...it wasn't Kiba. She saw Kiba no more than a friend. There was no spark, no chemistry, and nothing could change that. If she continued, she'd just be lying to herself, and lying to him. She couldn't do this.

As he inched closer, she slowly turned her head away from his.

"I'm sorry," Kiba said, giving her space.

"No, don't be...it's not you. It's just I, I can't-"

"You're thinking of someone else," Kiba stated, as if he was already familiar with this.

"W-what? No-"

"You don't have to deny it. I've seen that look before. You have someone else on your mind. You like Kankuro, don't you?" He said almost too casually. "I suspected it after that fight we had and how you ran to him."

Mimi felt her heart flutter as he brought up his name. She looked down at Kiba's floor as if it got suddenly interesting. Yes, he was the person that had crossed her mind through her confusion, but why? She does like his personality, for one. Unlike a lot of people, Kankuro never tried to force himself to be nice to try and impress anyone, but that isn't indicative of her liking him. She could name things she likes about anyone's personality. That didn't answer any of the other questions she was thinking of, though. She had to admit she was kind of attracted to him. She felt her face heat up as she reminded herself that the thought has crossed her mind how he would look without those black, baggy clothes. Well, those questions and thoughts were stupid, anyway. There were just as many things she could list that she didn't like about the puppeteer, too...like...well, he does upset her at times, but she couldn't stay mad at him for long. But that didn't mean she liked him...did she?

"You're blushing."

"I'm sorry..." Mimi said, still looking down. She had gotten so lost in her thoughts she almost forgot he was sitting in front of her. She _did_ like him...and she didn't even know what to do with that information now that she came to this realization. Way for Kiba to open up a can of worms.

"It's alright. I've been through this before." Kiba said, looking ahead as if he was thinking of something else...or some_one_ else.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Mimi said, feeling more guilty that this isn't the first time a situation like this has happened to him.

"Don't feel bad. Want me to tell you a secret?" Kiba asked.

Mimi sighed in amusement, shaking her head. Ever since she's been down here it's just been secret after secret she's had to keep. "Well, it's my namesake. But please, I hope this one doesn't get me in an awkward and unwanted situation," she told him, remembering the last couple of times she's had to keep secrets for people ever since she's come here.

"It won't if you don't open your mouth." Kiba promised.

"Well, fine. It's the least I could do after I just wasted your time." She said guiltily.

"You didn't waste my time, trust me. Naruto's wife...she's the third member of my team that you haven't met. Her name is Hinata." Kiba started. "She's always liked Naruto, ever since we were kids. But she was too shy to ever pursue him, so he never really paid much mind to her. And at that time, Naruto was interested in another girl on his team."

"Oh, that's sucks. Did the girl on Naruto's team like him back?" Mimi asked, wondering where on earth he was going with this.

"No." Kiba said. "She loved their other teammate, Sasuke. It's a good thing those two ended up together, because that bitch is crazy. Naruto would have never been able to keep her in check, now that I think about it."

"Wow, okay..." Mimi commented, wondering how Naruto's teammate was like if someone as powerful as _him_ couldn't keep her in check.

"I used to make fun of Hinata for it all the time because she would faint every time she would see him." Kiba said, reminiscing. "But there was a point in time Naruto left Konoha for like two to three years to train with his master. It gave me and Hinata more time to get...closer without him being a distraction."

"So you liked this Hinata chick." Mimi stated, reading between the lines.

"I did." Kiba said. "Ever since the Chunnin exams, I felt like I always had to keep up with Naruto. But when he left, I saw it as my chance to at least show Hinata there was someone who actually notices her. She was still the shy person she's always been to other people, but she started to really open up to me. We...ended up becoming more than friends, and I thought her infatuation with Naruto went away. Man, we had such a good relationship. I really thought she was the one for me. We even made love, countless times."

"Get out," Mimi said, shocked. "Does Naruto know about that?"

"Hell no. He thought she was a virgin when she got with him. I honestly thought he would've found out by now...I mean-he has serious power! But he's a knucklehead. It's better off he doesn't know. No one even knew we were together except our sensei and Shino, and that was because they suspected something was going on between us two. Shino would always comment how me and Hinata would forget he was there when we would all spend time together."

"Aw, that's sweet," Mimi said, but she couldn't believe that Naruto doesn't know about it by now. Maybe he just doesn't care?

"It was sweet while it lasted. All of that went down the drain once Naruto came back. She ended the relationship soon after. It was like he never left! I really thought she was over him. I should have known better."

"That's messed up. You weren't mad?"

"I was pissed! I felt so used, like I was some kind of rebound while he was gone...I said a lot of things I shouldn't have, but I couldn't stay mad at her. It wasn't completely her fault...I had made it really obvious that I liked her, and she didn't want to disappoint me. When Naruto left, she felt that maybe it was time for her to move on. I give her credit for trying and giving me a chance. I still loved her...but I had to accept it for the sake of our team after she told me she still loved Naruto. I didn't want our missions to be affected because of it, so I just shrugged it off and pretended nothing ever happened. And Shino really helped me. That guy...he's a great friend. It's the only reason why I let him think he's the leader of our team...sometimes. But even now, I know that she still thinks of what could have been. I could tell from the way she looks at me that there's a part of her that will always remember what we had. But that's in the past now."

"That blows, I'm sorry to hear that." Mimi said. "But what compelled you to tell me this? This is a pretty deep secret. It's kind of scandalous, being that Hinata pretty much lied to Naruto about her virginity."

"She didn't _lie_ to him, exactly...he just...kind of assumed she was, and she went with it." Kiba said. "And I told you because you admitted to me you liked Kankuro; a secret for a secret. I didn't want you to think I was going to go off telling everyone, unless you want me to."

"No, absolutely not!" Mimi said, her face getting red at the thought of Kankuro finding out. She couldn't imagine him being the type to even be interested. "He'll probably just tease me about it."

"I doubt that," Kiba said flatly.

"Why?"

"Nothing...just a feeling." Kiba said, not wanting to bother to explain anything, though he suspected that Kankuro acting like the biggest cockblock of the century was starting to make much more sense. Shino was right, once again. He should have just left Mimi alone. "I don't see the reason why you just won't tell him."

"He won't be interested."

"Maybe you could change his mind." Kiba pondered.

Mimi laughed at that suggestion. "Change his mind? That guy is stubborn as a mule. Not even God could change his mind about anything."

"I don't see the point in waiting. You're better off giving it a shot sooner than later...but then look what happened to me..." Kiba said, reevaluating his own advice.

"I think you'll find someone." Mimi pondered. "Who knows, maybe she'll be an animal lover like you."

"That'll be awesome," Kiba said, thinking about it. "As long as she doesn't like cats. I hate cats. But I don't mind staying single for the time being."

Mimi laughed. She could imagine the commotion that would ensue with cats and dogs running around everywhere in his house. That would definitely be interesting and hilarious to see. But what were the chances of that happening...right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru and Temari were standing at Konoha's gates, waiting for Mimi and Kankuro since it was time for them to leave.

"What's taking them so long?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru shrugged apathetically.

"Maybe they wanted some alone time," Temari joked.

"For what?"

"You mean you haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Shikamaru asked, sounding uninterested.

"Don't you think Kankuro's a bit...jealous of Kiba?" Temari asked. "I picked up on it the other day when I met up with him in front of the Hokage's building."

"Oh, that." Shikamaru said. "You just noticed it then? All Kiba did was confirm what I was thinking ever since I got to Suna. I picked up on that a long time ago. I don't really care, either way. That's his problem."

"Of course..." Temari said dully, not really surprised that he was a step ahead of everything once again. "Oh, look, they're coming."

The rest of the days spent at Konoha were refreshing, but even though Mimi enjoyed her stay here, she did miss Suna, and looked forward to seeing Rubi. She was now standing at the gate with Kankuro, ready to depart with Temari and Shikamaru seeing them off. Mimi thanked the both of them for giving her such an enjoyable experience.

"You better come back around soon," Temari said, half-jokingly to Kankuro.

"I'll try. Gaara's been trying to keep me trapped in Suna ever since you planned to leave."

"Temari will be fine with me." Shikamaru said confidently.

"She better be." Kankuro said. "You do anything to my sister and I'll gut you while you're still conscious and add you to my puppet collection."

"Such lovely mental images," Mimi commented plainly at his grotesque description.

Shikamaru laughed nervously after an awkward silence. "You're a funny guy, Kankuro."

"I'm not trying to be funny." He said seriously.

"I would never hurt Temari. She's scary enough as it is. Most foreign women are."

"What are you insinuating?" Temari asked Shikamaru skeptically, putting her hand on her hip.

"I don't think foreign women are scary." Kankuro said plainly, siding with Temari.

"That's because you're the scary one," Mimi said to Kankuro.

"Whatever, just drop it. I didn't mean anything," Shikamaru said, not wanting to explain himself after realizing he probably made a mistake for voicing that opinion. But that didn't stop Temari from reprimanding him.

Mimi had to agree with Shikamaru on this one as she observed Temari telling him off. Pregnant or not, she didn't think anyone who had some common sense would dare cross Temari. Mimi had to admit, Shikamaru had guts for saying some of the things he did. For him being so smart, she would think he would be a bit more mindful about the things he says when she's around.

"Okaaaaay...well, I think we should get going." Mimi said to Kankuro, feeling a hint of pity for Shikamaru as they left the village.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As nightfall approached, Mimi and Kankuro settled down for the night after walking all day, Mimi nodding off until she heard a weird clicking sound which roused her. She thought nothing of it and started to nod off again, until the sound startled her slightly as she was almost fully asleep again. Attempting to ignore it, she was almost fully asleep until the clicking sound woke her once again, this time the noise being particularly loud and irritating.

Frustrated that her sleep was being constantly interrupted, she got up to investigate where the noise was coming from, seeing Kankuro hunched over sitting on the ground doing something close by. She couldn't see what he was doing though, since his back was turned to her. Mimi slowly crawled over to where he was to see what he was doing, peeping over his shoulder to see a bunch of mechanisms she did not understand. He briefly stopped what he was doing when he sensed her presence, and then resumed to whatever he was focused on.

Being that it was already dark, Mimi couldn't really see what he was doing specifically. He seemed to be playing with screws inside one of his puppets. She leaned closer to get a better look, putting her hand on his shoulder for leverage. Kankuro stopped for a moment, getting annoyed, but he continued nonetheless, choosing to ignore her.

Mimi squinted her eyes in contemplation. Whatever he was doing looked complicated. Wanting to get a closer look, she rested her chin on his shoulder nosily. Kankuro felt his heart skip a beat as he felt her close to him. Kankuro sighed angrily. He couldn't focus.

"I don't know what customs you have back where you come from, but where I'm from we like our personal space." He finally said.

"Huh?" Mimi asked.

"I mean get off of me, you dwarf."

"'Personal space'...you've got to be kidding me," Mimi said as she scooted away, pouting. "We crossed that line a long time ago when you put your hand up my shirt. I just wanted to see what the heck you were doing."

"Well how do you expect me to focus with you breathing down my neck? It's like Konoha made you just as annoying as everyone else there. Go back to sleep."

"I'm not the only one being annoying here." Mimi retorted. "Why do you think I'm up in the first place? I _would_ be sleeping peacefully right now if _someone_ wasn't making loud clicking noises!"

"Shut up," he mumbled, focusing back on fixing his puppet.

Mimi sat next to him, watching him. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Stuff." He said sardonically.

Mimi stood quiet again, watching inquisitively as he was screwing some weird circular mechanism in the puppet. "What's that?" She asked.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't know...it just looks interesting."

Kankuro glanced at her skeptically. "You're the first villager who's ever said that to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. A lot of villagers show interest in other fighting techniques."

Mimi shrugged. "I guess with the job I ended up doing, anything else sounds more interesting. And I've never really seen anyone else use it..." she said. "Why did you decide to use puppets anyway?"

"I get a thrill out of controlling things. And I get to be creative in the way I want to hurt my opponent."

"So you're a sadistic control freak. Why doesn't this surprise me?" She stated before thinking.

Kankuro glared at her before deciding to ignore her comment and resume fixing his puppet.

Mimi didn't say anything else, getting the clue that she was probably getting on his nerves at this point. As she watched him, she noticed something different about him that she didn't catch before.

"Hey, you don't have your paint or your hat on," she pointed out.

"You just noticed?" He said flatly.

"Well, yes...you don't look much different with your paint off. Sue me for not noticing." Mimi said, feeling a bit thrown off that he didn't look much different without it. She expected he was trying to hide a scar or something, making that association when she first saw the Hokage, who always wears a mask. But all she saw was the same serious, handsome face.

"Stop lying."

"I'm not lying," she said.

"I don't believe you. You're the only person that thinks that." He said more defensively than he wanted to. He didn't want to believe her. He was safe hiding behind his paint, looking like a different person.

"So? Just because no one else can see past your paint, doesn't mean I can't." Mimi teased, eyeing his messy brown hair. She thought it would be reddish or blond like one of his siblings.

Kankuro looked away, feeling uncomfortable, already having a feeling where this conversation was going. But he couldn't hide this time the way he could with everyone else. He looked down at his puppet, trying to find something else to fumble with in hope of deterring the conversation.

"Kankuro, why do you wear the war paint?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"...Because I can." He answered, saying what he always did when someone asked him that.

"There has to be another reason," Mimi said in mock skepticism, already expecting that reply. "What are you trying to hide?" She prodded playfully.

"Can you just drop it?" Kankuro said angrily. "What is this, twenty questions? Mind your business. You don't see me asking you why you're a loan officer."

"Well, it's simple, really. Two and two is always four, no matter how good, bad, beautiful, ugly, charming or annoying...no matter what happens, numbers don't change; they'll always be dependable. They won't lie to you, hurt you, leave you, or die..." She rambled, fumbling with Kankuro's hat in her hands, which she previously picked up when she saw it near the puppet.

"Hey, give that back," he told her.

"No," she said mischievously.

"I don't want to have to make you give it back to me," he said seriously.

"What are you gonna do? Use ninjutsu on me? Oooh, I'm so scared." Mimi joked.

"I wouldn't need to resort to that, simpleton," he said, attempting to grab his hat, but she quickly dodged it, laughing as he attempted to wrestle the hat out her hand.

"Having trouble?" Mimi teased, dangling the hat in his face. "Looks like you're going to have to use your cloak with the hood from now on...or just get a new hat."

Kankuro smirked. "Are you testing me?"

"Maybe."

In a moment she found herself pinned to the ground, Kankuro above her. She attempted to get up, but she couldn't budge.

"You should know by now that I don't like being underestimated." He said lowly, smirking.

Mimi looked up at him, almost forgetting why they were like this in the first place. All she could think about was the position they were in, and how she loved it when he smirked like that.

"That was disappointing. I thought you'd put up a better fight than that," he teased, casually taking his hat back before returning to where he had been sitting before.

Mimi sat up, smiling softly with a faint blush on her cheeks. Maybe next time, she will put up a better fight, even if she knew she wouldn't win. She couldn't really complain about the outcome.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Entering Suna once again, Mimi was glad to be back, eager to inform the Kazekage that he would be able to repair the parts of the village that needed it based on what she was able to do with the Hokage. A part of her was excited to explain to him what she was able to do to make this possible, but she presumed that the Kazekage himself wouldn't want to delve too much into the details if he didn't want to fall asleep midway through her explanation. He looked bored enough when she was explaining what she usually does when he requested her to see him. She could only imagine the look on his face when she explains all the paperwork. She sighed, guessing it takes a special kind of person to do what she does...possibly a madman, a masochist filled with pain and melancholy.

Looking around, Mimi noticed the village seemed more lively than usual. She liked the energy that was currently being given off in the village. It was definitely one to boost one's spirits, and made her walk to the Kazekage's office pleasurable. The Kazekage seemed to be busy, though, since she overheard other voices in the office from the door, so she decided that it would be best to come back in an hour or so. While she was headed back out the building, she stopped quickly, getting distracted by five picture frames hung up on one of the walls. There was a picture of the Kazekage there, and four other pictures before his, but she didn't know who the three others were. Observing the fourth and fifth picture, she concluded that it must be some type of family gallery, since there was a picture of the Kazekage, and Kankuro without his paint right next to it. The other three pictures must be some other family members.

"There you are. I was wondering where you went off to," Kankuro said, approaching Mimi.

"I didn't want to intrude on your conversation with Rojikku. I was going to talk to the Kazekage, but he's busy at the moment." Mimi said, turning back to look at the pictures again. "Is this your family?" Mimi asked, pointing to the other three pictures.

"No." Kankuro said. "Those are pictures of all the Kazekages."

Mimi eyed the pictures again, confused. "You used to be Kazekage?"

"No," Kankuro said, raising a brow. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're right there," Mimi stated, pointing to the fourth picture.

"Can't you read? Does it say that's me?" Kankuro said acidly.

Mimi took a second look, not noticing the small text on the bottom of the picture. "Rasa, fourth Kazekage...oh, sorry, I got confused. Are you related to him or something?"

"...Yes, that was my...father..." He said, feeling awkward and upset.

"Oh, wow, you stole his face! You look just like him-"

"Well I'm _not_ him." Kankuro interrupted angrily, snatching the documents from Mimi's hand.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" Mimi asked, taken aback by his attitude.

"I'll bring these to Gaara. Just get out of here, and don't bother coming back later either." He said rudely before walking away. She could have sworn she heard him punch something.

"Okaaaay..." Mimi said, puzzled and hurt. She had no idea what she did, but from the way it looks, she definitely hit a nerve.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro walked in Gaara's office, slamming the papers on his desk before turning around to walk out.

"Excuse me, is something bothering you?" Gaara asked, already knowing the answer to that. But he refuses to be on the receiving end of his brother's unpredictable attitude.

"Buzz off." Kankuro said rudely, still walking toward the door.

"This is not a proper way of reporting your mission to me." Gaara stated. "Where is Himitsu?"

"She went to go kick rocks-"

"Do _not_ speak to me with that attitude." Gaara said. "How do you expect me to get a proper report of this mission if she's not here?"

"I don't know. Not my problem." Kankuro said sharply, turning around to face him. "Go look for her then."

Gaara gave him a long, drawn out stare. He really wasn't in the mood to be dealing with this today. With all the festivities going to take place soon, the last thing he needed was to be dealing with trivial problems like this.

"That was extremely uncalled for." Gaara finally said, arms crossed in disapproval, having heard what went on outside of his office. He figured it was best to just get to the point instead of trying to ease the issue out of his stubborn older brother. "There was no reason for you to speak to her like that. She knows nothing of your past."

"Well she shouldn't have brought it up then," Kankuro mumbled grumpily.

"It was an honest mistake. She did not intend to offend you." Gaara said, sighing. "You owe her an apology."

"I don't owe her shit."

"You need to remember that you brought her here. She has no one, and she is alone. I can see it in her eyes-"

"Oh, don't start with that bullshit again-"

"Just listen to me. You need to learn to let things go. And I'm not talking about the situation that just occurred."

Kankuro glared at Gaara angrily. "You're really bringing this up right now?"

"I'm saying it because I care about you. If I forgave him for the atrocities he's put me through, I don't see why you can't do the same. It's not healthy to hold such a grudge. And to be honest, I don't understand why you hold so much anger."

"What are you saying?!" Kankuro yelled angrily. "You think you're the only one who could be angry just because you had to deal with the jinchuriki? At least he had faith in you! At least he fucking apologized to you!"

"I'm not saying you don't have a right to be angry. I'm saying I've gone past that, and I think you should get past whatever anger you hold as well. I'm not defending his actions, but he was in a desperate situation and did what he thought was best for the village."

"'Thought what was best for the village my ass...'" Kankuro mumbled. "What about being a decent father."

"We have to be optimistic. Even if our father wasn't perfect, we've had our mother."

"I think we all know who was her favorite," Kankuro said icily.

Gaara glared at him unbelievably. "Is this was this is about? Sibling rivalry?"

"It's more than that. But of course you wouldn't understand," Kankuro said disdainfully.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Kankuro said before walking out the office. There was a lot that he didn't tell Gaara, and he didn't want to bring it up anytime soon, or ever.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi sulked as she thought about what just happened, wondering what she did wrong. Sighing, she came down to the conclusion that it would just be best to leave it alone. Thinking it through over and over again in her head wasn't going to give her an answer, so she thought it best to just leave it alone for now, and apologize to Kankuro another time, even if she didn't know for what.

For now, she figured it would be best to go see how Rubi is doing to let her know that she's back. She should be out of work by now. Hopefully she wasn't working overtime today. But as she approached her apartment, she noticed the door was unlocked, slightly ajar. There were voices coming from the inside of the apartment; Rubi seemed to be arguing with someone.

"I'm just sick of this game you keep playing! You keep giving me mixed signals. Can't you ever take me seriously for once?" Mimi heard someone say loudly. It sounded like Ryu.

She wasn't able to hear anything else, because the voices were muffled and it seemed they just kept talking over each other. Eventually she heard Ryu say "I'm done with this" and he walked out of the apartment, too angry to bother greeting Mimi. Rubi attempted to walk after him, but decided to leave him alone after she saw Mimi standing there.

"Oh! Hey, you're back..." Rubi said, feeling happy about it, but the tone of her voice was clouded by her current mood.

"Hey...wanna talk?" Mimi said empathetically, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Sure," she said lowly. "You don't look too happy either."

"I guess it's just not our day..." Mimi said, half joking.

Rubi smiled. "Come inside," she said, gesturing her to her apartment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi and Sutera were in Rubi's apartment once again having just got out of work on the day of the festival, getting ready. Mimi didn't really plan on making herself up, but she gave in after Rubi and Sutera's convincing, mostly Sutera's convincing, since she had no date and wanted Mimi to accompany her for the festival. Apparently the guy she dated a couple of weeks ago didn't work out, and she didn't want to be alone for the night. Rubi had found another date that wasn't Ryu, which is what caused a problem between them in the first place. From what Mimi was aware of, they still weren't talking.

"Hn, I still don't know what to wear," Mimi said, looking at the clothes that were spread out on Rubi's bed. Sutera had made her go shopping for clothing that would be nice for the festival beforehand. Tapping her chin, she stood in contemplation which would be the best fit for her. Sutera didn't make her get clothes that she would normally wear, much to Mimi's dismay, so she was unsure of what would be the best pick. She wasn't really comfortable with the options that were given to her. They weren't things she would normally wear. She was almost done trying on all the outfits, and she still hadn't made a decision.

"How about this one?" Rubi suggested, pointing to a small black dress.

"Okay," Mimi said, putting it on since she and Sutera were only half dressed, only in their undergarments.

Mimi looked at herself in the mirror, observing herself judgmentally. "Hm...I think this one is too tight. It's kind of revealing, too."

"That's the point!" Sutera said.

"You've said all of them were either too tight or revealing." Rubi commented. "I just think you need to change your style."

"Sorry for preferring to be comfortable," Mimi said, taking off the black dress, reevaluating her options with what was left of what she bought.

"Well, I think this dress is perfect for me!" Sutera said, putting on a small, very revealing red skirt and top. "I don't have a date, but that doesn't mean I can't find one. Then I can finally meet the man of my dreams..."

"...I think you're going to attract the wrong kind of men with that." Mimi commented.

"Nonsense. This is perfect." Sutera said, admiring herself in the mirror. "If I wasn't able to get a date beforehand, I might as well find one at the festival. This is a perfect night to meet a bunch of prospecting bachelors. Why do you think so many girls dress up?"

Mimi shrugged. She understood why Sutera was getting all dressed up, but Mimi still didn't see a reason why she should. Mimi still wasn't all that eager to look for someone new, if she was being completely honest with herself.

"Well, Mimi, pick something quick. My date should be picking me up soon." Rubi told her, handing her the royal blue dress that was on the bed. "Here, try this one on. It's not too revealing so it should be okay."

Mimi put on the royal blue dress, and even though it wasn't ideal, it was good enough, minus being a bit too short for her taste.

"That looks perfect! Now let do your hair and makeup. My date should be here by the time I'm done." Rubi said.

Mimi reluctantly agreed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The festival was crowded, but lively; it wasn't something that Mimi was used to. There were so many people around, and she ended up losing track of Rubi and her date, so she was walking the streets of Suna with Sutera, who seemed to be preoccupied with other things. Mimi did enjoy the happy energy of the crowd, though. She had to admit, it was more fun than the festivals up North, since the Land of Snow was less populated. She enjoyed seeing the performances, and was going to ask Sutera what they should do next.

"So many hot guys! It's so hard to pick just one," Sutera said, as she was looking around.

Mimi gave her a flat look. "You know, you could be in a coma. All it would take is one hot guy within a five mile radius and you'll wake up in less than a second," she commented.

"Well, I don't want to be one of those old hags who never got married like the Fifth Hokage," Sutera commented. "I'm at my peak now! Time goes by so fast. If I wait, I'll be too old before I realize it!"

"That's not nice, Sutera. You shouldn't speak about any of the Hokages like that," Mimi said, though it was interesting to hear that the Fifth Hokage had been a female.

But as if the universe was granting Sutera another chance, she was approached by one of the many guys who had been staring at her. Eventually Mimi was left on her own as she went off with her new date. Mimi shook her head, hoping this time things will turn out better for her friend.

As it got darker, Mimi walked around, wondering what to do next. Eventually she passed by a group of girls. As she was overhearing their conversation, it seemed that they were talking about the Kazekage.

"I'm so sad. I heard he got a girlfriend!" One of the girls said. "I hope they don't work out. Then I can finally have a chance with him!"

"I can't believe he actually took his own student as a date," another girl said. "She's not even all that pretty."

Well, it seems that word has gone around about the Kazekage and Matsuri. Mimi thought that wasn't a very nice thing to say about her, though.

"Yeah, he's way too handsome for her." One of the girls said, agreeing.

"I think his brother's still single."

"Ew, his brother looks like a creep! He's still single for a reason."

That comment got Mimi upset. She frowned. They shouldn't speak about Kankuro like that.

"Aren't one of his puppets a dead body?" Another girl in the group added.

"That's totally gross. He doesn't deserve a girlfriend if that's true."

"He's so rude, too! I remember I spoke to him once to see if he can try to get me to speak to the Kazekage and he cursed me out!"

"It was well deserved, if that's the way you talk about people." Mimi said, interrupting their conversation, a bit amused at what the girl said. That is something Kankuro would do.

"Who was talking to you?" The girl said rudely after seeing who interrupted their conversation. "Don't tell me you actually like that creep."

"He's not a creep!" Mimi said defiantly. "How could you say something like that about someone when you don't even know them? And I don't think the Kazekage would appreciate you talking about his brother or his student like that."

"The Kazekage probably only tolerates that puppet freak because he's his brother. He would be nothing without the Kazekage." The girl replied. "He's a total jerk."

"Kankuro is strong! He saved my life and he's a good person, even if he may not seem like it at first...way better than you guys." She told them angrily.

"What do you know anyway? You're not even a shinobi. You're just a lowly villager." The girl said, the other girls snickering.

Mimi scowled at them before storming off. She wasn't going to waste her time arguing with ignorant people who thought they were superior because they knew how to fight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As nighttime approached, Mimi decided to walk away from the commotion and noise of the festival, looking around to find a good place to spend a couple of minutes alone. She needed a break from all those people, especially those girls who were saying bad things about Kankuro. It made her think about how he was doing. She hoped he wasn't still mad at her...she hasn't seen him since the incident at the Kazekage's building. When she had been requested by the Kazekage to come back to report to him how everything had gone, Kankuro wasn't there. But she was glad that the Kazekage was satisfied with the results, and requested she stay for the festival before departing to the Land of Snow.

Finding a small isolated alley some distance away from the festivities, she walked inside, leaning against the wall before noticing that someone was already there. Looking to see who it was, she looked down on the ground, flushing, after seeing the only person she knows to wear a long, black hooded cloak. Just her luck. She didn't even know what to say to him.

"Um, h-hi..." she managed to say. But he didn't say anything to her. Was he still upset? "I...I'm...s-sorry," was all she could muster. _I probably sound completely stupid_, she thought as she noticed him staring at her with his usual stern expression.

Kankuro hadn't really been in the mood to deal with the festival, and he was standing alone, in contemplation. That was until he heard someone else interrupt the solitude he was appreciating. He would have been upset if it were anyone else, but he knew who it was. He had overheard her arguing with those girls earlier, and now here she was, standing right in front of him. She was trying to say something to him, but he wasn't even paying attention. She looked beautiful, and he couldn't keep his eyes off that little dress she was wearing. The first thing that went through his mind when he saw her was if he didn't have any self control, he would have carried her away like the first day he met her and find a place where he could pry her little legs open and have his way with her. Which had him thinking what she was doing wandering in dark alleys alone at this time of night in the first place looking the way she does.

Mimi looked up at him in hopes that he would say_ something,_ but he just stood silent. Mimi concluded that it's obvious he was still upset...but she wished she could know what exactly she did wrong. Sighing, Mimi quickly turned around to walk away since he hadn't said a word to her.

"You have a bad habit of walking around alone when you shouldn't be," Mimi heard Kankuro say.

Mimi stopped, turning back around to face him. "I...I guess I'm just used to it. I used to do the same thing up North. Only difference is I had a cigarette."

"You're lucky it was me you bumped into." Kankuro said. "I could have been some other guy."

"And I thought I was pessimistic..." Mimi commented. "Way to anticipate the worst scenario."

"Sue me for worrying about you."

Mimi stood quiet, looking down at the ground again. She's been doing that a lot lately. She felt glad to hear that he worried about her. Did that mean he wasn't upset anymore? She was scared to ask.

"It's a nice night tonight, isn't it?" Kankuro asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Yes," Mimi said, agreeing with him. "So why are you here all alone?"

"Just thinking about some things." Kankuro said. "...Gaara's changed a lot over the years. There was a point in time when I would have never suspected he would become the Kazekage."

"Why not?" Mimi asked. Mimi thought he definitely seemed like the type.

"He used to be a ruthless killer. He didn't even consider me and Temari his family."

Mimi turned to him with a look of disbelief. Well. That was definitely an answer she was not expecting to hear. "R-really?!" Mimi asked. The Kazekage came off as a serious person who didn't show much emotion, but she would have never believed him to be the sociopathic type. Her neighbor with the cats up North was right. It was always the quiet ones. As she pondered what on earth could have happened that could make the Kazekage turn out that way, much less do a 180 and become good, Kankuro told her about what had happened to Gaara during his childhood and how he was treated by the village, and how Naruto changed all of that. And then he told her how much closer they got after Gaara changed.

"...and now he's the Kazekage, with a girlfriend and a bunch of fangirls. To think Gaara would get all these things...that's something. I'm happy for him, but I can't help but feel that I'm always in his shadow. I'm always stuck following his orders. It just seems backwards. I'm older than him...shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"I don't think he would have been able to achieve all of that without your support." Mimi told him. "And you have fangirls too."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do, what about all those girls you brought from your missions?"

"Those aren't fangirls. Those are just girls I fucked. They didn't really know who I was and weren't really aware of my abilities, nor did they care. They were just looking for a good time."

"Oh," Mimi said. "Well...I'll be your fangirl. I think your puppet stuff is cool...Kankuro-_kun_."

He smirked at her joke. "Spare me the endearment. I don't want a fangirl out of pity."

"I'm not doing it out of pity!" Mimi exclaimed. "I really do think the puppets are cool...even if they are a little creepy, and I like your black clothes and your paint and stuff..." Mimi said, trailing off. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the paint. The last time she brought it up, he didn't really like it much. But he didn't even glare at her when she mentioned it.

"...When I first was teamed up with Gaara, Temari advised I change my appearance because it might trigger Gaara to kill me." Kankuro said instead. "He hated our father. So I put on the paint and found a hat."

Mimi nodded. So that's why he wore the paint and the black clothes...but why was he telling her this?

"It was good advice. Before the Chunnin exams, Gaara saw me without it one day and luckily Temari walked in and caught him trying to kill me. She convinced him to let me go after she told him it was me. I don't know why he let me go. I thought he was far gone at that point, but it gave me hope that maybe there still is a sane person in that head of his. He still threatened me a lot afterward, though."

Well, that was a side of Gaara Mimi never wished to see. That must have been scary as shit. She was thankful Gaara didn't go through with that. "Why do you still wear it then? He's not like that anymore."

"Because I don't see myself when I take it off_._" Kankuro said. "My 'father' was a horrible human being for the stuff he did. Gaara wasn't the monster. He was the monster...he was the reason Gaara turned out like that. But he had faith in Gaara to be useful for something, at least, even though in the end he felt that Gaara failed him. But for some reason, he hated me...I don't know why. He treated Temari well. He would at least try and spend time with her when he could. He would basically ignore me. He never seemed interested in my well being at all. It was always Gaara or Temari...I don't know what I did wrong."

Mimi looked up at him sadly. Poor Kankuro. She would prefer no parent over a half-assed parent any day.

"In his eyes Temari could do no wrong, even when she did stuff she wasn't supposed to. He would let her get away with anything but if I were to do the same thing, he would beat me and talk down on me and say I wasn't going to amount to anything...he would say I was a waste of time and space. He said I had no value...never had a damned good thing to say the rare moments he did acknowledge my existence. Sometimes he would just beat me because he was frustrated. He would do it when nobody was around, but Temari saw him one day and she refused to speak to him again after that. But we don't talk about that incident."

"That's terrible," Mimi said. How could someone do these things to their own kids?

"But what really pisses me off the most is that he had the nerve to fucking brownnose Gaara to try and get some sort of forgiveness when they were put to fight." Kankuro said angrily. "Gaara told me how the fight went...of course he didn't tell him all the other shit he did...I didn't want to tell Gaara. I'd rather him not know. It doesn't surprise me, though. Typical of my father to act like he's a saint in front of everyone and keep the other fucked up shit he did behind closed doors. I hate him. He's a fucking narcissistic asshole and I hope he's rotting in hell."

Mimi looked at him, seeing the pained expression on his face. It must have been hurtful to be overlooked and treated that way. It was then that she realized that the tough attitude he puts up is to hide the hurt and the anger. She didn't know what to say to him...

Kankuro was caught off guard when he felt her hugging him. At first, he didn't even know how to react. He didn't get hugged much, and if this were any other person he would have just pushed them off of him. But this hug wasn't like the usual unwanted stupid hugs he rarely receives from people (Ryu being a perfect example). This hug was different. It made him feel different...like she cared. After all these years, maybe this is what he needed. He slowly put his arms around her in an embrace. She smelled good...

"Mimi..." He murmured.

"Yes, Kankuro?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Thank you." He said, looking into her eyes.

Mimi felt her heart leap as she looked up at the handsome face that was staring back at hers. Paint or no paint, she liked him for who he was, and she felt nervous butterflies in her stomach as she felt him hold her closer to him. _This_...it was this feeling that Mimi was expecting to feel. "With me...you don't have to hide..." Mimi told him, slowly slipping his hood off before he planted his lips on hers, the fireworks already in the sky. This couldn't have felt more perfect.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto smirked as he watched Kankuro and Mimi from a distance in a hidden area. Well, well, it seems as if his spying has paid off, and he's finally found a weakness. _The puppet master has found himself a girlfriend; this is perfect, _Kabuto thought as he overheard their whole conversation. A civilian, at that. Luring him out of Suna would be a piece of cake using her. He was afraid he would have had to use the older sister since getting the Kazekage was out of the question; that was just a death wish and nearly impossible. Using the wind mistress would have been easier, especially since she left the village and pregnant as well, but it still would have had harsh consequences. Not only would it attract the puppeteer, but the Kazekage himself and the whole Nara clan, which in turn would involve the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans. It would have been too much work to handle. But this simple village girl, who seemed to have no ties to anything around here...he hit the jackpot.

He fled the scene quickly, ready to formulate a plan with the Shirogane clan. They would be excited to hear this news.

**A/N: Already working on the next chapter.**


	13. Kidnapped

**A/N: ****I'm not sure if the implied sexual content in this chapter was too much to be rated T, so I changed the story to M to be safe. I don't want to get this story deleted or flagged on accident because of a rating mistake. So I'm going to up the rating to M, but if you feel that it's still okay being rated T, feel free to send me a private message and I'll change the rating back. I also apologize for the excessive OCness in this chapter. -_-;**

**I have the next chapter planned out already.**

It was a quiet day, the aura of Suna more toned down than usual, as if the collective consciousness of the village was trying to rest from the recent festivities that took place. This included the three village girls that were almost always together nowadays when they weren't busy with work or other necessities they had to take care of. They decided to spend this tranquil day in Rubi's room once again, choosing to lay low like the rest of the village.

"You guys still aren't talking?" Mimi asked Rubi while she casually sat on her bed, referring to the rift between her and Ryu.

"The both of you need to just make up already." Sutera said, also sitting on Rubi's bed, resting her head on her knees while picking a piece of chocolate that was conveniently put on a plate. Unlike Rubi's current issues, the guy that Sutera met during the festival turned out to be successful so far.

"It's not that easy," Rubi said, combing her short red hair in front of her mirror. "It's him who doesn't want to talk to me."

"Then go to him," Sutera suggested.

"For what? I didn't do anything wrong." Rubi said.

"Can you really blame him for getting upset though?" Sutera told her. "I would feel some type of way if I had plans with someone and they completely cancel them to go with someone else last minute."

"But I really wanted to get to know this guy! I thought Ryu would understand." Rubi replied, pouting in disappointment. "I would have never done it if I knew he'd react this way."

"You're friend zoning that poor guy so hard I actually feel bad for him." Mimi said, taking a piece of chocolate from the plate. "Do you really not get the hint or are you just playing dumb?"

Rubi sighed. "I don't want to ruin the friendship."

"That ship sailed long ago when you decided to sleep with him." Sutera piped in.

"Look, I didn't know it was going to end up this way, okay?" Rubi said, yanking her hair a little too roughly while combing, causing her to wince and rub her head.

"I'm not gonna say I told you so..." Mimi said, predicting that this type of issue was bound to happen.

"Thanks a lot Mimi," Rubi retorted sarcastically. "You're not helping!"

"Well, what do you expect us to say?" Mimi said. "The best thing you can do is either talk it out with him or leave him alone. By now he's probably not gonna take the whole 'friends' thing as an answer anymore. So it's up to you whether you want to take it further with him or not."

Rubi sighed. "I just...don't know yet. I have to think about it."

"I don't know what else you were expecting out of this, Rubi," Sutera said. "You should know by now that men and women can't be 'just friends.' If someone tells you that, they're lying. There's always some type of tension there, if you get what I mean."

"I don't think that's true all the time," Rubi said. "It might be true in your case, but not everyone's like that."

"And look where that got you," Sutera retorted.

"Well, it would be true for you, Sutera. It's not like you would have it any other way." Mimi said, adding the last comment with a hint of sarcasm.

"Of course not! Why just be friends with a guy? That's such a waste of a good time."

"I really hope you don't plan on getting married with that type of mentality," Mimi commented to Sutera.

"There's no harm in having a hall pass here and there. I don't know why you're acting all innocent, Miss Mimi," Sutera said playfully. "You're the one who left to Konoha to screw the dogboy."

"That's right! I forgot about that! How'd that go?" Rubi asked, glad to have changed the subject.

"For your information, I didn't do anything with him." Mimi said, laughing at Rubi and Sutera's nickname for Kiba.

"Really?" Rubi asked, a bit surprised. "I thought you two were getting along great. What happened?"

"I just didn't like him like that, I guess," Mimi said, shrugging.

"You're so lame, Mimi," Rubi commented. "You couldn't at least give it a shot? He was so cute."

"This calls for some intervention," Sutera suggested. "It's been too long, Mimi. We're going to find you a nice guy to date."

"We?" Rubi asked.

"Yes, 'we'," Sutera said. "If you're a good friend, you would help me get her out of this..._thing_ she's in."

"What '_thing_?' I'm not in a 'thing,'" Mimi said.

"Are you sure you're over that guy from the Land of Snow?" Sutera asked.

"Yes...ew, don't even remind me of him." Mimi said, unconsciously putting on a look of disgust when comparing Yujiro to the guy she was currently interested in. Really, what the hell was she thinking? Now Yujiro was definitely the epitome of lame, especially compared to the guys in Suna.

"Well, it's been way too long. You need to get yourself out of this slump you're in. You're acting like my grandmother." Sutera said.

"Look, I'm not in a slump, and I don't need some guy to validate my existence. Just let me be. I'm not trying to rush into anything." Mimi said. "Weren't we talking about Rubi?"

"I'm just trying to help. Do you want to be old and alone?" Sutera asked.

"Who cares if I am?" Mimi said. "I need to go. I have to...go do my laundry."

Mimi rushed out of Rubi's place, leaving a suspicious silence in the air after she left.

"She's hiding something," Rubi said to Sutera. "She always runs away when she's hiding something."

"What could she be hiding?" Sutera asked.

Rubi shrugged. "How would I know?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi walked into her apartment, relieved that she was able to get away from the subject that was about to come up. What she didn't tell them was that she just simply wasn't interested in looking at other men right now. Right now, her mind was on one man, one really awesome man. Walking toward her room, she smiled as she thought of the night at the festival. Since then, they've been having secret...encounters, and she must say she's been really enjoying them. He would pop up when she would least expect it and whisk her away. It was something new that she's never done with anyone before. She didn't even remember when it started or how it ended up like this...it just kind of...happened. She didn't know Kankuro could be so kinky and exciting, but she really liked it...no, she loved it. It was addicting. She knew her life was fairly dull, but she didn't realize how dull it had gotten. He left her on her toes, leaving her hoping that he was going to pop up again. No, she was definitely not interested in other guys. Not when he did things that kept him on her mind all the time. But she doubted things were going to get any more serious. She was working in the Kazekage's building now looking over financial documents so she saw Kankuro often, but they acted the same way, albeit a bit more subtly flirtatious, so she doubted he wanted anything more than just this game they were playing. But she wasn't worrying about that right now. All she wanted was to enjoy it while it lasted, because something like this was too good to be true, and she knew it wasn't going to last.

She sighed. The Kazekage would be assigning her to go to the Land of Snow soon. She hoped that the Kazekage would have him leave with her again. Then they wouldn't have to sneak around so much, not that she even had a problem with that.

Caught up in her daydream, she jumped as she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind.

"Midget," someone said softly, kissing her head.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me all quiet like that. You scared the shit out of me," Mimi said, turning around to face him. "How'd you even get in here?"

"You left the door unlocked, genius." Kankuro said. "What were you doing just standing there?"

"...Thinking about you."

He smirked. "Miss me?" He said, their lips locking before she could give an answer.

In a second she felt herself being pushed on her bed, pinned down as she felt his hands all over her, letting out a small moan as his hands groped her breasts. It felt a bit abrasive, but she liked it.

"You're such a tease, always wearing baggy clothes..." Kankuro said, kissing her neck, ripping her shirt off.

That was one of her favorite shirts, but she'll let that slide. She didn't mind when the way he was touching her felt so good.

"You like it when I'm rough with you, don't you?" He murmured in her ear. "I like it when a woman can take a little pain."

But their moment of fun was short lived when a moment later there was a knock on the door, and the both of them separated quickly, Mimi quickly finding another shirt to throw on before walking to the door.

"...Hey, Rojikku," Mimi said, feeling a bit confused.

"Hey..." Rojikku said, giving her a weird look. "Um, I just stopped by to let you know that the Kazekage's looking for Kankuro. Can you tell him there's a group of important meetings for the next couple of nights if you see him? I'm just going around telling anyone so he won't miss it."

"Yeah, sure." Mimi said.

"Uh..." Rojikku said, gradually pointing toward her mouth.

"What?" Mimi asked.

"Having trouble putting on your lipstick?"

"Huh? What do you mean-oh..."

Mimi blushed, temporarily forgetting that her face and neck was probably full of purple paint.

"Uh, yeah! I bought this new lipstick, and I didn't like it, so I was wiping it off and you knocked!" Mimi made up. "Sorry, gotta go. I need to take the rest of it off. I'll let him know if I see him!" She said quickly, closing the door. Kankuro was already gone, most likely having left through one of her windows when he heard the door. She smiled. She's not gonna lie, their little game was fun.

Rojikku raised a brow as the door closed in his face. "Weird..." He said before walking away. Her lipstick color looked really familiar, but he couldn't really put his finger on where he's seen it before. Oh well, it was probably nothing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_A couple of days later..._

Kankuro looked at his bed, the sheets ruffled from earlier that day. He still smelled her perfume in his sheets, but that was something he got used to. But even if this was all too familiar for him, this time it felt different. With other women, he didn't miss their presence, instead he hoped the lingering scent of their perfume would go away, because all it would do is remind him how empty he really was, how unsure he was of himself and what he was supposed to be..._who_ he was supposed to be. But with her, he felt the opposite, and all he was left with was a longing for more, which was new, since he rarely returned to the same girl for sex. She was different. Maybe it was because she actually listened to him, and he told her things he's never told anyone. He wasn't used to many people paying much attention to him. This feeling he had was different. It was unfamiliar, and slightly unsettling, because she could see _him_. She knew that he was the way he was because he felt angry, resentful, overlooked, and unheard. He didn't think anyone could be with him after that, but she stood around. Wait, what was wrong with him? He didn't think he should even acknowledge that. It's not like he knows where they stand. Everything just kind of...happened. What _are_ they? He didn't even know.

Under a small wrinkle in the sheets, he saw a small, velvety material sticking out from the crease. Picking it up, he ran his fingers across the dark green scrunchie that Mimi would normally use to pick up her hair with when it got too hot. He remembered taking it off of her to let her hair fall down her back.

_BANG._

Kankuro furrowed his brows irritably, wondering who the hell had the gall to knock on his door like that. The only one who did that was Temari, and she's not here.

_BANG BANG. _"I know you're in there! Open the door!"

Kankuro raised his brow emphatically, seeing the platinum haired headache standing with a miffed expression as he opened his door reluctantly, the guy's arms crossed as if Kankuro did something wrong. Oh, wait...

"I was waiting for over an hour! Don't tell me you're gonna train with me if you're gonna wimp out!" Ryu said exasperatedly, throwing his arms in frustration. "What the hell man?"

"I'm not wimping out. I forgot." Kankuro retorted, unconsciously twirling the scrunchie between his fingers.

"Yeah right. You've been avoiding sparring with me since there was snow around here! Are you afraid I'll actually win this time?" He taunted.

"Don't flatter yourself. You're far from a threat to me. I just lost track of the time."

Ryu looked at him despondently. "What is it with no one taking me seriously? First this girl, then you- oh, what's this?" Ryu said, taking the scrunchie from his hand.

"Give that back," Kankuro said irritably, snatching the scrunchie back.

Ryu gave him a skeptical look, a bit taken aback at his reaction. "...Is there something you need to tell me?"

"What are you talking about?" Kankuro asked, raising a brow with a puzzled look.

Ryu casually walked inside, facing him seriously. "Look, if there's something you need to talk to me about, I won't judge you. Just answer this one question."

Kankuro stood there, anticipating that most likely, Ryu was going to say something so ridiculous he might just feel his IQ points drop by thirty.

"I've known you for a long time, man. When you started with the dressing in black, I didn't think anything of it. But then you started with the face paint, and now that I'm seeing this scrunchie...I'm starting to think that you like playing with puppets for a different reason than other puppeteers."

"What are you getting at?" Kankuro asked, wondering what could possibly be his assumption about him wanting to use the puppet technique.

"Just be honest." Ryu said, slowly raising his arms as if trying to reason with him. "Are you, or are you not, a secretly gay cross dresser?"

There was a moment of silence, Kankuro trying to process the imbecility that just came out of this guy's mouth.

"What the fuck!" Kankuro finally said angrily. "No! What the hell does that have to do with me wanting to use puppets?!"

"I don't know...maybe you like playing with dolls! What other reason would be there for you having a girl's scrunchie? Unless you're wearing wigs or something; it's not like you need one." Ryu responded, putting his hand on his shoulder casually. "Look, there's no need to deny it anymore. One of my teammates goes the other way and I don't have a problem with it-"

Kankuro rubbed his fingers on his forehead, trying to rid himself of the headache that this guy was already causing. "I. Am not. Gay." He said through gritted teeth.

"Aaaaaah, I see now..." Ryu said eyes widening, cutting himself off as he came to his own logical realization. "You aren't gay! The puppet master was getting lucky. It all makes sense now. I'll forgive you for ditching me. So, who's the girl?" He teased.

Kankuro glared at him, already having had enough with his inanity. He couldn't believe that this idiot would assume he's a gay cross-dresser before coming down to the conclusion that he was with a girl. "None of you business. We can spar tomorrow if you're free." He said, changing the subject.

"Alright, but wait till after we finish sparring if you're gonna get some action." Ryu joked.

Kankuro gave him a flat look. "Get out."

"Alright, alright, sheesh, no need to get all cranky."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_The next day..._

"Hey look, Ryu's over there." Mimi said to Rubi, pointing to the open field as the both of them were walking outside the next day. He seemed to be sparring with Kankuro...well, it looked more like Ryu was getting his ass handed to him.

"I doubt he wants to talk. He hasn't even made an attempt to speak to me."

"You haven't either."

"Well, he's busy right now-"

"Stop making excuses! Just go!" Mimi said, already fed up with their conflict. "You can't mope around forever."

"Come with me, then." Rubi told her, trying to make a compromise.

"Fine." Mimi said, agreeing wholeheartedly. It's not like she would turn down an opportunity to speak to the guy that she thought about all the time. "Come on," she said, taking her arm and walking to the open field.

Ryu groaned in frustration after getting tossed to the ground for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "I'm gonna take a break," he said, sounding disappointed...but for some reason, the disappointment didn't sound genuine, as if he was used to it.

"Hello, Mimi." Ryu said, after he saw them watching, ignoring Rubi. Kankuro looked at him with a puzzled look, unaware of what was going on. He shrugged, walking to the two girls. "Hey," he said, smirking at Mimi before saying hello to Rubi.

Ryu eyed Kankuro suspiciously, catching on to the way he was acting, which was almost too casual compared to how he normally acted. And what was that smirk about? Well, it didn't completely throw him off. He highly suspected Kankuro had a crush on Mimi. He shook his head. It was probably nothing.

"Hi," Mimi said, smiling at Kankuro.

Ryu's eyes squinted in doubt. Mimi doesn't normally smile like that unless he made a funny joke. He felt something weird was going on...nah, it was just in his head.

"_Hello, _Ryu," Rubi said sarcastically.

"You can tell the person I'm not talking to that I said hi." Ryu said to Mimi, crossing his arms.

"You see what I'm talking about, Mimi? Why do you have to act like a five year old? Are you really going to keep on with this?" Rubi said, annoyed. "Then he wonders why no one takes him seriously."

"You can tell that person that if she _would _take me seriously for once, we wouldn't be doing this in the first place." Ryu said to Mimi.

"And you can tell that person if he would actually _listen_ to me, we don't have to be doing this." Rubi retorted.

"Ugh, it's too hot to get in between this. The both of you are being ridiculous. You can talk this out on your own." Mimi said, running her hands through her hair. "Rubi, do you have a scrunchie? I think I lost mine."

Ryu slowly eyed Mimi questionably. She lost her scrunchie? Nah, it can't be. It's just a coincidence. Girls lose those all the time.

"Yes, here," Rubi said, handing her one that she had on her wrist.

"Thanks. I really liked that one too. It was such a nice green. Oh well."

Ryu's eyes widened as he put the pieces together. She lost a green scrunchie, and he saw Kankuro have one in his hand yesterday. No way, everything was just adding up too obviously. That meant...

Oh..._oh..._OH.

"Oh my God..." Ryu said, looking at Mimi and Kankuro. "You...you..."

"What?" Kankuro asked. And then he realized it. _Shit_. Ryu saw him have the green scrunchie that Mimi was talking about yesterday. Kankuro gave him a glare that he hoped Ryu would understand as him _really_ needing to shut up.

"YOU! YOU mmmmhphfh-"

Rubi raised a brow as she saw Kankuro cover his mouth and drag him away, looking at Mimi who was just as confused as she was, shrugging.

"I KNEW it! I _knew_ it! I knew you liked her!" Ryu said when Kankuro let him go.

"Alright shut up! Don't say anything."

"But when did this happen?" Ryu contemplated.

"Mind your business! Just keep quiet about it."

"I bet it was during the festival." Ryu concluded. "You were always the lucky one. I was alone and drunk that night."

Kankuro ignored him, not wanting to engage in his nosiness. And Kankuro wouldn't really consider himself lucky. He just never acted like a buffoon like the guy standing in front of him.

"Why don't you want anyone to know?" Ryu asked plainly.

"I...well...because it's no one's business and I don't want everyone making a big deal out of it. And I don't want Gaara to find out. Then he's going to think that I brought her here for that reason and I didn't. I'm just tired of hearing his shit. I love him and all, but he's a fucking prude. He forgets that I'm older than him." Kankuro said, making an excuse which was partially legitimate. The main reason was because he didn't know _what_ they were, exactly, so it was just best that it was kept a secret. And he enjoyed having her as his secret, no pun intended.

"He's the Kazekage. He kind of has to be." Ryu said.

"No, he's always been that way. He just uses being the Kazekage as an excuse to be more of a prude."

"Well, rumor has it that he has a girlfriend now. Maybe she'll loosen him up."

"When pigs fly," Kankuro mumbled.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" Rubi said, finding the both of them, Mimi accompanying her. "Is this your way of trying to avoid me?" She asked Ryu.

"I wasn't trying to avoid you." Ryu said.

"Then can you stop walking away from me? I'm getting sick of this crap. I'm sorry, okay?"

"For what?" Ryu asked.

"For ditching you. I didn't know you'd take it so personal."

Ryu stood quiet for a moment, trying to figure out if he should take her apology.

"You know, after a while, it gets tiring feeling like you're just being used."

"I didn't know you felt that way." Rubi mumbled. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I care about you."

"And you think I don't care about you? I've been miserable this whole time because you wouldn't talk to me. Right, Mimi?" Rubi said, turning to where she had been standing. "...Mimi?" She asked, looking around. "Where'd she go?"

Ryu looked around, noticing that Kankuro was nowhere to be seen either. "Where's Kankuro? That asshole. I wasn't finished sparring with him yet." He said sullenly, feeling defeated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_The next day..._

Gaara looked at the two men in front of him, anticipating their reply if they were ready for their upcoming mission. He hoped they wouldn't give him a hard time. It was always like pulling teeth with these two.

"Well?" Gaara asked.

"Lord Kazekage, why isn't Ryu accompanying us on this mission?" The shorter of the two asked, shaking his well groomed raven black hair away from his deep dark blue eyes, putting his hand on his hip.

"I notice you've been sending him on a lot of solo missions," the other, much taller and thinner man stated plainly. He had longer, black hair, but unlike his well kept teammate, he didn't bother putting much effort into keeping his hair, or appearance for that matter, flawless. He thought it was quite ridiculous that Robitu insisted on matching his weapon with the rest of his fighting gear, including his clothes. Back when they were genin, he would always argue with him that this feat of his would always slow the rest of them down. But Robitu made up for that by being the most skilled fighter of the team.

"Ryu's skills were ideal for those missions," Gaara stated. "I'm sending you two on this mission without him because I'm anticipating he might be needed again. His abilities are a huge advantage for people who need to be shielded."

"Well, he's a huge advantage for us too, you know," Robitu said, almost annoyed. "His medical ninjutsu skills help me avoid permanent scarring on my skin."

Gaara raised a brow, giving him a blank look, barely believing that a shinobi of the sand village could be so vain. Of all reasons that someone could list about why it would be an advantage to have a shinobi who knows medical ninjutsu on their team, _that_ reason was definitely one he's never come across before.

"What are you talking about? You're the one always complaining how idiotic he is. Now that he's not here you want to start whining to the Kazekage? You could never be satisfied with anything, you know that?" Toroi said, aggravated with Robitu's constant nitpicking.

"I'm _not_ whining," Robitu said, rolling his eyes. "I was just stating a fact. Isn't that right, Lord Kazekage?"

"Don't even bother answering him, we are ready for this mission, and we have _no more_ questions," Toroi said to Gaara, already having had enough with this, grabbing Robitu by the arm. "Let's go. I think you've already wasted enough of the Kazekage's time."

"Hold on, hold on!" Robitu said, snatching his arm away, rubbing it. "You're going to leave wrinkles all over my clothes."

Toroi breathed in heavily, praying to whomever to give him more patience with this guy. "We. Are. Going. On. A. Mission. Your clothes are going to get messed up _anyway! _Are you not getting it?!"

"Hmph, that's what _you_ think. No one ever touches me in a fight without getting seriously hurt." He said arrogantly.

Toroi groaned in irritation, partially because he knew that his statement was true. Before he was tempted to ruffle his fingers through Robitu's hair to mess it up just to mess with him since he got him so frustrated, someone else walked in the Kazekage's office.

"Lord Kazekage, here's some more paperwork. I sorted it so it can be easier for you to go through," Matsuri said, walking in his office since the door was left open.

Robitu looked Matsuri up and down with dislike. "_Matsuri_." He said in the least nice way possible.

Matsuri sighed. "Oh, hey, Robitu." She said casually, not wanting to entertain the guy.

"You agreed to a rematch with me. Or did you forget?" He said, walking closely to her.

"You can worry about that when we come back from our mission." Toroi said, pulling him out the office. "Sheesh, are you really that bitter that she beat you? She was trained by the Kazekage. What did you expect to happen?" Matsuri heard him say as they exited the office. Robitu, fighting with legendary chains that were passed down in his family for generations, didn't take his loss to Matsuri too well when they were put to spar once, especially since he had more experience as a shinobi than she did, and all she was using was a regular johyo with no type of honor behind it. She actually felt kind of bad about it. She didn't intend to humiliate him that day. But ever since then he's held extreme contempt every time she was in his presence. She did beat him, but he put up a good fight.

"Those two are really something, aren't they, Lord Kazekage?" Matsuri said, turning around to see that he was standing behind her.

"How may times do I have to tell you that you don't have to call me that anymore?" He said, closing the door, taking the paperwork from her hand and tossing it on his desk.

Matsuri smiled. "I'm sorry, would you prefer Gaara-_sensei_?" She asked in mock innocence.

"Actually, yes," he said to her, after contemplating her suggestion for a brief moment.

"Oh, really?" She asked, not expecting that answer.

Gaara smirked. "There's a lot of things that I haven't taught you yet," he said slyly, snaking his hand around her waist.

Matsuri giggled. "I didn't know you could be so flirtatious. What's my lesson for today, Gaara-_sensei_?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rubi walked along the streets of Suna, still deep in contemplation about what happened between her and Ryu. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the whole situation, and she wasn't really sure how to cheer Ryu up either. They were talking again, but things still felt different. Sighing, she leaned against the wall of the building, wondering what she should tell him.

"I don't know why you were complaining so much to the Kazekage about Ryu not coming with us," Rubi heard a familiar voice say. It sounded like one of Ryu's teammates. That gave her an idea. Maybe his teammates would help her figure out what to say to him. She didn't have to tell them what was going on, but maybe they knew what to do when he got upset. Even though her and Ryu have been friends for a long time, she was just at a loss on how to cheer him up about this.

"I don't want our team to grow apart, that's all," Ryu's other teammate said. She could recognize that effeminate voice anywhere. That was definitely Robitu. "Why, are you jealous?" he teased.

"You know I'm not the jealous type," Toroi told him casually.

Rubi covered her mouth in shock. She did not expect that reply from him. She thought it would be best to walk away, but it was too tempting to eavesdrop on their conversation. She didn't know Toroi was gay...with Robitu, of all people. Heck, she doubted anyone knew. Did Ryu know about this?

"I'd just think you'd take this mission as an opportunity for us to have more...alone time, if you get what I mean." Toroi continued.

Robitu laughed. "Oh, you're a bad boy." He said, amused. "You don't miss our dear teammate at all now, do you?"

Rubi slowly walked toward where their voices were coming from, ending up in a small passageway behind the building that she was leaning on. Craning her neck slowly, she saw them making out.

"It's kinda hard to miss him when we can't do this when he's around." Toroi said when their lips parted. "Do you think he's finally suspecting something?"

"No, not at all." Robitu said. "The reason I wanted him to come on a mission with us is because I bumped into him during the festival. He drawled on about how he's been feeling so left out when he goes on missions with us lately. But he was really drunk. He probably doesn't even remember talking to me about it."

"He'll be alright." Toroi said.

"I think you just enjoy sneaking around," Robitu said, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"What can I say, I like the thrill." Toroi joked before kissing him again.

Rubi quickly ran off before they saw her, because they would have eventually found out she was there if she were to hide there long enough. Holy shit. Rubi had to tell Ryu about this. No, she couldn't! This was private. It was up to them to tell him. This was just a really juicy piece of gossip, though! She had to tell _someone_.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi looked into his eyes, breathing heavily as they finished, his face paint smeared from their kisses. Looking at him hovered over her, she felt...right. Even with his paint smeared and his hair disheveled more than it usually was, she thought he was the most gorgeous man ever. No one has ever made her feel the way he made her feel when they were in bed together. In her heart, it was more than just sex. She _wanted_ him, all of him. And she hoped she was making him feel the same way he was making her feel. But she didn't think she could compare, and all she could do was flush as he gave her that smirk that she absolutely adored. She was falling hard for him; she fell for him long before they started sleeping together. She guessed at this point she just liked to get hurt, sleeping with a guy she knows won't want her anymore than what they've become now. The sadder part was, she didn't care.

Kankuro looked down at her naked body under him, small smears of paint all over her..._his _paint. He barely ever kissed the women that he's slept with, and the times that he had, it was minimal. But he felt different when he slept with her. He wanted to kiss her, caress her, hold her closer to him. He wanted her to remember his touch long after they were done so she could come back begging for more...so she could let him dominate her again as she cried out his name in pleasure. He brushed his lips close to hers, kissing her again, enjoying the taste of her sweet lips, her petite body fitting perfectly under his broad frame. He's never felt this way about someone before, and now he was at a loss about what to do next. To be frank, he's never had a real relationship...the longest relationship he had was less than a month; he had gotten bored and was with other girls anyway. But he didn't even know if she wanted a relationship. He wasn't even sure what they _were_. Should he feel upset if she ended up seeing someone else? Even though he knew nothing was set in stone between them, the thought of her with some other guy got him extremely angry. He had to say something...

"Mimi..."

"Yes Kankuro?"

"I...um...what..." Kankuro started to say, but he couldn't bring himself to finish.

"What is it?" Mimi asked.

"Nothing," he said, getting up.

Why couldn't he say anything? What was up with him? It was just one question...was he afraid of rejection? No, not in the least. He wasn't afraid of anything, especially something small like this. He just needed to think about it more. Yeah, that's it.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, I just...I have to get ready to go to a meeting soon." He said, deciding to drop it.

"Oh, okay," Mimi said, downhearted. What was it that he wanted to tell her?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quick to rush away from what she just witnessed, Rubi wasn't really paying any attention to where she was going when she bumped into Ryu when she was about to enter her building.

"I was looking for you," Ryu said. "What's up with you? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"N-no! I haven't seen anything shocking and secretive at all!" Rubi blurted out.

"You really suck at keeping secrets." Ryu said unequivocally.

Rubi looked around at anything but him, but not because she felt uncomfortable. She knew that if she looked him in the face, she was going to be convinced to tell him what she saw. She had a good two seconds to make up some elaborate lie.

"You might as well tell me the truth. You're making the 'I-need-to-make-up-a-lie-in-two-seconds face'." Ryu stated.

Damnit. "Look, I can't tell you that..." she said, defeated.

Ryu's eyes widened. "Oh my God, so you know?"

Rubi looked up at him. "Wait, so you already knew?"

"Yeah, I already knew! I can't believe you found out! I've been wanting to tell someone about this!"

"I can't believe it!" Rubi said, relieved.

"Me neither!" Ryu said. "Kankuro and Mimi-"

"I know! Robitu and Toroi-"

"Wait, _what?!_" They both said at the same time.

"What did you just say?" Ryu asked.

"No, what did _you_ just say?" Rubi asked.

They both looked at each other in shock, realizing that they both just spilled the beans on things they weren't supposed to share.

"Okay, we can't say anything about this," Rubi said, after an awkward silence. "You have to act surprised if they tell you, okay?"

"How did you even find out about that?" Ryu asked. "I didn't know Toroi was gay...no wonder those two have been acting so close."

"I overheard them talking earlier today...and I saw some stuff I probably shouldn't have...but you can't make it obvious that you know! They weren't ready to tell you yet."

"I don't know why they don't want to let me know. It's not like it concerns me much anyway. It would have been nice to know that, actually. I thought they hated me or something. I'm glad to hear that that's all it was."

"Um, I don't think the reason they want to keep it secret has much to do with you...don't worry so much about that." Rubi said assuredly. "How did you find out about Kankuro and Mimi?"

"Let's just say I put the clues together and Kankuro admitted it to me. He's really weird about keeping it a secret though."

"No wonder Mimi's been so avoidant about getting a date lately...I have to tell Sutera about this-"

"No! You can_not_ do that!" Ryu said strongly, especially since he noticed that Kankuro was being quite ambiguous about the whole thing.

"But-"

"OH HEY THERE MIMI!" Ryu said loudly, just spotting her as she was approaching them.

"Hi!" Rubi said, a bit too happily. "What are you doing right now? Where are you going? Let's hang out!"

Mimi looked at the both of them, feeling a bit weirded out. "Um...hi?" She asked, a bit confused. "I was just heading home. I always go this way when I head home. We live pretty close to each other, Rubi."

"Oh, right..." Rubi said, laughing nervously. "How about I walk you back home?" Rubi asked, already taking her arm to walk with her. "See you later, Ryu!"

"Um...okay." Mimi said.

"Wait, I wanted to...forget it." Ryu said sullenly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Later..._

"So, I see you guys are talking again," Mimi said, throwing off her clothes and putting on a big, comfortable t-shirt.

"Yeah, but I'm still so undecided about what to do." Rubi said. "We're talking now, but it feels different."

"I don't know what you're so undecided about. He's being pretty straightforward about what he wants."

"I know...but...if we take this further, what if we break up and then we're not friends anymore?"

"It seems like that's a chance he's willing to take." Mimi said casually. "Do you want the same thing?"

"Yeah, but...I love him too much to risk losing him. He doesn't understand that."

"I think you're just using that as an excuse because you're scared to have a real relationship." Mimi stated.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Well, I'm not judging you or anything, but from the time that I've met you...you've dated guys that you know won't last, and I think you're doing that because you're scared of commitment."

Rubi stood quiet.

"In the end, there's no wrong decision here. You don't have to force yourself to do something that you don't want to do." Mimi added.

"You're right...I guess I should talk to him about it." Rubi said, contemplating. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow. It's getting late; I want to go find him before it gets too dark."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Mimi said, locking her door after Rubi left.

Walking to her room, she threw herself on her bed, eyeing the shirt that she nonchalantly threw on the floor. Reaching over to grab it, she ran her finger over a small purple stain near the collar of the shirt, reminding her of the passionate events from earlier that day. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she started thinking about him again. She missed him already.

"Hello, there." Mimi heard someone say.

"Kankuro..." Mimi said, looking up to see him standing in her room. He must have come through her window. That way of greeting her was new. Since when was Kankuro so formal? "Weren't you supposed to go to a meeting?"

"They can wait." He said carelessly.

Mimi eyed him, confused. Even though she was happy to see him, she didn't think it'd be wise to go late to something important like that. "Kankuro, I think you should come back later. I don't think the Kazekage will be very happy about you going late to the meeting."

"The Kazekage will get over it." Kankuro said. "I missed you, doll face. Come with me. Let me take you somewhere special."

Mimi looked up at him suspiciously. He was acting weird. _Doll__ face_? Where did that come from? He never called her that. And he never refers to his brother as "The Kazekage" either. Mimi stood up, inching toward the door slowly.

"What's wrong, doll face?" He asked, grabbing her wrist, smirking, blocking the door to the room and closing it. "Don't you want to spend time with me?"

Mimi looked up at him. That smirk...it wasn't his usual smirk. It looked...sinister. This wasn't Kankuro. He wouldn't make her feel unsafe. She tried to pull her wrist back, but he tightened his grip.

"Get away from me! You're not Kankuro!" She yelled, kicking him between his legs when she couldn't release his grip on her arm.

He hunched over in pain temporarily, and she grabbed one of her hard cover books sitting on the windowsill and smacked him across the head with it since he was still blocking the door. It didn't seem to phase him, much, though, and he quickly retaliated, smacking her across the face. Mimi fell to the floor, and she tried to back away, but he pulled her closer to him by her ankles.

"You hit like a three year old," he said, grabbing her by her hair before he found something to tie around her mouth. "But I must admit, you're quite perceptive for someone who has no shinobi skills."

Mimi saw a smoke cloud, revealing the man under the disguise. It was a man with glasses, hair tied back in a ponytail. Wait, she's seen him before...he was one of the guys that came out of the mirror that day! But why was he doing this? She thought he was helping the Kazekage? He looked so well mannered...looks can definitely be deceiving. Confused and curious, she tried to say something, but her voice was muffled by the cloth that was tied around her mouth. Getting angry and scared, she tried to fight him off the best she could so she could be able to escape, resorting to scratching his face. All this seemed to do was anger him, and he shoved her roughly toward the ground, grabbing her wrists to tie them, and then her ankles.

"I suggest you don't make this any harder for yourself," Kabuto said. "I don't want to hit you unnecessarily."

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Darn, who's that?" Kabuto said to himself lowly.

"Mimi...it's Rubi, open the door. Do you have a sweater I can borrow? It's chilly outside." They heard from outside of the apartment. Rubi must have turned back shortly after leaving the building.

"Mmmphhhmfff!" Mimi said, shaking her head vigorously at Kabuto, trying to squirm out of her restraints, but it was useless. He tied her tightly.

"Is that your little friend? Well, she can be of use to me." Kabuto said smugly.

Mimi shook her head, hoping he'll understand her pleas to leave Rubi alone. But it just seemed to amuse him, and he walked toward the door.

"Who are you?" Rubi asked, not expecting someone else besides Mimi to have opened the door. She didn't leave too long ago, so seeing a new face caught her off guard. "Wait a second, you look familiar! I've seen you before..." She said.

"How interesting," Kabuto said dully, not really caring. He grabbed her roughly, closing the door, covering her mouth. "Listen to me and listen well. I highly suggest you cooperate with me, or your friend dies. Do you understand?"

Rubi nodded her head, trying to look around for Mimi.

"Good." He said, roughly grabbing Rubi and dragging her carelessly to the room by her hair, tying her tightly to the bedpost.

"Why are you doing this?!" Rubi said, sobbing, after seeing Mimi tied up and tossed on the ground. "Leave her alone!"

"Quiet," Kabuto replied curtly, tying her mouth. "Eventually someone's going to stop by and discover you here. All you need to do is tell the puppeteer that I took his girlfriend, and if he wants her back, to come get her in the mountain ranges on the outskirts of the desert. Do I make myself clear?"

Rubi shook her restrained arms roughly, cursing him behind muffled screams angrily.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Kabuto said, smirking at her struggle, throwing Mimi over his shoulder, escaping out the window.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ryu knocked on Mimi's apartment door, deep in thought. He felt it was best to just be serious and straightforward with Rubi. She wasn't going to get it any other way. He didn't hear anyone, though, and was about to turn around until he heard a loud banging sound from the inside of the apartment. He knocked again, and heard the sound again. Confused, he slowly opened the door, noticing that it was left unlocked.

Inside the apartment, he saw some things out of place, tossed around and broken, before hearing the loud banging sound again, which was coming from the room. Walking in the room, he saw Rubi tied to the bed, shaking the bedpost so it can make a sound against the wall. The whole room was in disarray as if a sandstorm passed through. Whatever happened, there were obvious signs of a struggle.

"Rubi!" He said, running to her, untying her from the bed. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Rubi said desperately. "That bastard tied Mimi up and took her away! You have to get her back!" She pleaded after the cloth was removed from her mouth.

"Who?" Ryu asked.

"It was some guy with glasses...I've seen him before. He came out of some mirror with Kankuro when it was snowing!"

Ryu had to think for a moment about who she could be talking about. Thinking back to when Suna was frozen over, he tried to remember all the people he's come across. He sounds familiar...and then it clicked. Around that time, he had been assigned by the Kazekage at some point to keep an eye on a criminal who had received an abdominal injury. He didn't know all the details, but he was aware that the man was an important part of their investigation about the change of weather. He had no doubts that it was him she was referring to. The Kazekage had told all the shinobi to keep on a lookout for him since he has a knack for sneaking and spying on villages. It would make sense since based on what Rubi told him, he didn't seem to have much of an issue getting through the security into Suna without being discovered.

"I know who you're talking about," Ryu said seriously. "Let's go." He said. He didn't know what his motives were for taking Mimi away, but it was probably related to a bigger and more dangerous plan that could put the whole village at risk.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gaara left the meeting room, the elders done with their last meeting over the span of a couple of days. They had been having a serious discussion about how to keep tabs of Orochimaru, and he had to report any updates from Konoha. So far, the Hokage plans to have the Uchiha try and figure out his motives, even if there doesn't seem to be much of a threat now.

"Lord Kazekage, I need to speak to you about something important. It might involve the safety of the village." Someone said as he was about to walk into his office.

Gaara turned to see that it was Ryu, his brother's self proclaimed rival. He gestured him into the office, so he can explain the situation.

Ryu hoped that the Kazekage would be alone so he could explain the situation in detail, but after noticing that Kankuro was already there, he had to formulate this in a way that would give enough details of the previous events without mentioning any names until later when the Kazekage was by himself.

"Someone's been kidnapped," Ryu started. "They were taken away to the outskirts of the desert, in the mountain ranges. Based on the description that was given to me, it sounds like the person responsible is that criminal you had assigned me to watch. His name is Kabuto, right?"

Gaara nodded.

"I think this could be part of a larger conspiracy he's apart of, but I have no idea what."

"Who was kidnapped?" Gaara asked. "This could give us a clue as to what his motives are."

Ryu stood silent, unsure whether he should say who was taken away. Even though the Kazekage doesn't know about what's been going on between Mimi and Kankuro, _he_ does, and he knows it wouldn't be wise to just say it outright when Kankuro was here. He glanced at Kankuro, quickly looking away. Was it better if he just stood silent and tell the Kazekage when he wasn't around? Would that be fair to Kankuro?

But Ryu's glance at Kankuro and silence afterward seemed to give it away. Kankuro dashed for the door, but he was restrained quickly by Matsuri's johyo, since she had been present in the office as well. Having picked up on the subtleties between the two during the time Mimi has been working in the building, she concluded what Ryu's silence meant, and was able to catch Kankuro on time before he tried to leave.

"Let me go," Kankuro threatened. "Let me go!"

"You can't just leave," Gaara said. "We have to formulate a plan to be able to ensure the best outcome. You're going to get yourself killed if you act rashly."

"Shut the fuck up, Gaara." Kankuro said snidely, trying to get out of Matsuri's johyo.

"Don't speak to him like that, he's trying to talk some sense into you!" Ryu said.

"Leave him be, he's just upset." Gaara said. "Matsuri, hold him here for now."

Gaara gestured Ryu to come with him, and Ryu followed him into an empty room in the building.

"Matsuri won't be able to hold him back for long. He's not going to listen to any of us, and he's going to be ruthless toward people who're going to get in his way. You're the only person who has a chance of holding him back from doing anything reckless while I talk to other shinobi to formulate a plan. It's obvious that Kabuto was trying to lure him out of Suna to be alone, and if Kankuro leaves, he's going to be falling in his trap."

Ryu looked at him uncertainly. Was the Kazekage sure about this?

"Your high level missions are almost 100% successful. I know what you've been doing. You've been feigning. You're not the same person you were a couple of years ago."

Ryu looked away. Of course the Kazekage would notice.

"Kankuro's not going to listen to me. I'm hoping that maybe he'll listen to you if you try to talk some sense into him."

Ryu nodded.

"Go back to my office and keep an eye on him, and tell Matsuri to summon the rest of her team to me."

By the time Ryu got back in the office, Matsuri was already using all of her effort to try and hold Kankuro back with the johyo.

"I got him. Go get the rest of your team," Ryu said.

But once Matsuri let him go, Kankuro took the opportunity to run out of the building.

"Oh no," Matsuri said.

"Don't worry, I'll get him." Ryu said, running off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro ran as fast as his feet could take him; he was almost at the edge of the village. Soon he'll be out in the open desert, and no one would be able to stop him. Kabuto had a lot of guts to think he can take Mimi away from him like that and get away with it. By the time Kankuro catches up to him, Kabuto's gonna wish he never put a finger on her. That subhuman piece of crap...Kankuro knew he couldn't be trusted.

But a moment later, Kankuro felt himself being thrown back roughly on his back. Standing up, he looked ahead to see that a huge, blue wall of chakra was in his way. Looking around, he noticed that he was already surrounded by it.

"Ryu," Kankuro said, seeing him standing in the distance.

"Kankuro, you can't go on alone. You'll just be falling into Kabuto's trap. That's what he wants. You won't be helping anyone if you get hurt."

"I don't care. I want him dead, and I'm not going to let you get in my way."

"You're not thinking straight, man!"

"Do you really expect me to just stay here and do nothing?!" Kankuro said angrily, taking out his puppets.

There was poison gas building up within the shield that Ryu made. He had to release it if he didn't want to inhale the poison. Ryu absorbed the chakra back into his hands, stepping back quickly. The further away he was from Kankuro, the bigger advantage Kankuro had since he was a long distance fighter. He had to find a way to get closer to him.

Thinking quickly, Ryu trapped the remaining amount of poison gas within small balls of chakra, shooting it in his direction.

Kankuro saw the balls of chakra racing in his direction, and he dodged them before he would get hit by them. But the balls of chakra disappeared, releasing the poison within them, and though the poison had no effect on him, it was now surrounding him and blocking his view. _Dammit, that was smart_. Before Kankuro could prepare another attack, he noticed his puppets were now lying down on the floor. His chakra strings disappeared...he couldn't move, and now he saw bands of chakra that didn't belong to him surrounding his hands and feet.

"Give it up, Kankuro, I've got you." Ryu said, walking toward him.

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Mimi felt Kabuto let her go, and she fell straight to the ground, since her hands and legs were still tied. From her perspective, she noticed that she was surrounded by more people, being that she saw multiple pairs of feet standing around her in the sand.

"So this is the girl?" Mimi heard a male say.

She winced in pain as she felt him carelessly grab her by her hair. It was a young, muscular man with tan skin, with black hair held back in a long braid. He had a forehead protector with a symbol that looked like three drops.

"Hn, she's not much to look at. This is the best he can do? Doesn't seem like the type of girl he would go for." The man said rhetorically, examining her as if she were a specimen on a petri dish. "You sure he's gonna come all the way over here for this, Kabuto?"

_Fuck you, asshole_. Mimi thought, scowling at him since she wasn't able to speak.

"I'm fairly positive." Kabuto said confidently. "It's not the first time he's done it before, and he's too reckless to be the type to learn from his actions."

"Very well." The man said, dropping Mimi back on the ground. "Give us the signal when you're ready. We'll be waiting."

Kabuto nodded, picking Mimi back up, walking up the mountains to enter a large cavern within them.

Mimi glared up at Kabuto angrily as he placed her on the floor of the cave. So they took her in hopes of luring Kankuro. Little did they know that in reality, she wasn't his girlfriend. And at this moment, she was thankful for that, because that meant that there was a chance Kankuro wouldn't come. She wouldn't want him to get hurt by these people. Who exactly was that man with the long braid? And why was he fixated on Kankuro anyway?

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"I've disabled your chakra," Ryu told Kankuro. "You can't do anything now. If you try, I'll just end up absorbing it and use it against you."

This guy...Kankuro remembered when he could barely do a jutsu right. Now, he was able to recycle his own chakra, manipulate it for both offense and defense, catch it and reserve it, _absorb_ it from other people and he even knows some medical ninjutsu, and that's probably barely scratching the surface of what he's able to do. Ryu's chakra control skills have surpassed his own phenomenally. Then why was he able to defeat him so easily when they sparred?

"...Heh, you've been clowning me the whole time." Kankuro concluded. "You've gotten stronger, but you haven't changed a bit. I'm impressed that you actually turned your clowning around into a strength. You were bluffing so you can observe my moves and try to beat me. You've definitely come a long way. Unlike me who doesn't like to be underestimated, you use people underestimating you to your advantage."

Ryu smiled. He appreciated the flattery, but that wasn't going to let him put his guard down and let Kankuro have his way.

"I thought you would have caught onto that a long time ago." Ryu pointed out. "Isn't that why you agreed to spar me?"

"When you were fighting that queen, I figured you were able to do more than you showed people." Kankuro said. "...But to be honest, I agreed to spar you because I felt some type of way that you saved Mimi and I didn't."

"Coming from the guy who always said he would never let a woman affect his judgment." Ryu teased, laughing. "You think I surpassed you?"

Kankuro chuckled darkly. "In chakra control, yes, I'll admit that. But as a shinobi...you have a long way to go."

"Big talk for a guy who can't move." Ryu replied confidently.

"Hehe, think again."

Ryu saw Kankuro's face start to crack...no, it couldn't be. He was fighting a puppet the whole time! Which meant that Kankuro wasn't immobilized at all. _Damnit! _"Kankuro, don't do this! You don't know what Kabuto has waiting for you!"

The puppet pushed him roughly, and Ryu felt himself land inside something that wasn't the ground. Before he could react, he was already trapped inside.

"Sorry to leave you like this," Ryu heard Kankuro say from inside the puppet he was trapped in.

Ryu cursed himself as he heard Kankuro run off, exiting Suna.

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Back in the cave, it was quiet, the only sound being that of drops of water leaking in the cave, making a puddle. Looking in the puddle, Kabuto was startled not to see his own reflection.

"...Queen Oyko?"

The Queen sighed. "I knew having Queen Hokkyo keep an eye on you would be useless. She's too distracted with her dear Captain. Naïve as always..." She said in mild disgust.

"How are you even talking to me? Aren't you supposed to be in another dimension?" Kabuto asked.

"I am. I'm currently residing on a new planet ruling over my people in harmony." Queen Oyko said. "But I didn't appear here for catching up, obviously. I told you that ice dagger will have us connected, even if we're dimensions apart. I'm assuming you've gotten yourself into a messy situation if I'm here talking to you."

"Excuse me, for your information, I'm doing well." Kabuto said, slightly annoyed at her assumption.

"You should be more wiser about the decisions you make, Kabuto. Your fickleness will be your demise."

"Why do you care? I wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't ruined my life."

"This is why I feel responsible to warn you and at least help keep you away from an unrighteous path. I've made my mistakes, and I didn't get to apologize to you for the pain that I've caused."

"I don't want your apology. I think it'd be more fun for you to have this on your conscience. Now please, don't bother contacting me again. It'll just be a waste of time." Kabuto said smugly, kicking the puddle and walking away.

Mimi looked at Kabuto with wide eyes. Was he just talking to a puddle? She thought that Lee guy had a couple of loose screws, but this guy was just insane.

"Word of advice: You shouldn't give people such judgmental looks if you don't have a full understanding of the situation." Kabuto told her.

Mimi raised a brow, giving him a flat look before looking away awkwardly.

"No need to look at me so rudely. You forget that you're the one who's bound here. I can poison you in a nanosecond if I feel like it." Kabuto said, pointing a kunai at her.

Mimi shook her head, trying to say something, the cloth muffling her voice.

"You wouldn't dare," Kabuto heard someone say angrily. Looking toward the cave entrance, he saw that it was the person that he was expecting.

"About time. I've been waiting for you." Kabuto said.

"Let her go."

Kabuto laughed. "Straight to the point, aren't we? You think I'm going to make it that easy?" He said, walking in front of Mimi, blocking Kankuro's way.

"I was actually trying to make it easy for_ you_, but if you want a slow, painful death, be my guest." Kankuro sneered.

"Hn," Kabuto scoffed. "If the Kazekage doesn't intimidate me, what makes you think that you would?"

"Do you really want to find out?" Kankuro said snidely, his puppets ready.

Kabuto laughed. "I must say, I'm quite curious. Maybe I'll toy with you for a bit."

But Kabuto proved to be a very difficult opponent, able to keep up with all of Kankuro's puppets effortlessly.

"You should just give up. Your skills are mediocre at best compared to mine. It's laughable. I'd much prefer to be fighting the Kazekage. He'll at least be more of a challenge than you are."

"Heh, I'm used to being underestimated." Kankuro said, before the ground started to shake, Kabuto looking around to see where the source of it was coming from.

If Kabuto was less perceptive, he wouldn't have been able to barely dodge the particularly gargantuan puppet that tried to drill a hole through him from under the ground, filling up a huge portion of the already spacious cavern they were at. Well, that was new. Trying to get around the puppet to Kankuro proved to be an inconvenience to Kabuto, since it was nearly impenetrable and had the potential to spout flames larger than the cave itself if need be. He didn't think he would be pushed to use sage mode, but if this is what it's going to take to weaken his opponent, then so be it.

Kabuto's skin started to change, and he felt his senses improve, able to detect where the puppet master was really located, already aware that what appeared to be Kankuro manipulating the huge puppet wasn't really him.

Kankuro saw that Kabuto spotted him in his true location. In a millisecond, Kabuto was in front of him, and bit his arm, almost tearing it off if he hadn't be able to dodge it quickly enough. But Kankuro was just left with a huge gash. Kankuro attempted to grab him with one of his puppets, but he missed, Kabuto easily backing away.

"I've had the grace of meeting your father, once. Not only do you look just like him, you act just like him too." Kabuto sneered, knowing that this was going to stir up an angry reaction from the puppeteer after eavesdropping on his conversation with the village girl during the night of the festival. "Obnoxious, arrogant, and a fool whose recklessness caused his own demise. No wonder he despised you. You're a reflection of himself."

Kankuro scowled at him. This guy had a lot of nerve to dare tell him something like that. "Shut your mouth. You don't know me in the least."

"Aw, is the puppet master upset because I told him the truth? Really, you're worse than your father. Even he would have more sense than to come over here by himself, for a useless woman, at that. What makes it worse is that this isn't the first time you've done something this idiotic and reckless, almost getting yourself killed for the likes of someone else. But I must thank you for making this easy for me. It seems you're going to meet the same fate as your fool of a father. Did you really think you'd be able to have a match with me just by yourself? I've fought off a team of ANBU singlehandedly." Kabuto ranted, his hand forming a chakra scalpel. "A fight with the Kazekage would have been much more rewarding."

But to Kabuto's surprise, Kankuro just snickered.

"Any other last words?" Kankuro asked.

"You're the one who's going to be saying last words here. Don't be mistaken."

"Is that so?" Kankuro said, amused. "Feeling a little sluggish, yet?"

Kabuto's eyes widened in surprise as he noticed things around him getting slower, his senses starting to overload in a way that his body couldn't catch up with what his brain was processing. What was going on? He must have been poisoned...he had been distracted by the puppets. There was an easy solution to this, though.

"When I tried to hit you with my puppet, I missed on purpose, so I could let my poison absorb in your skin. You getting close to me was a big mistake. And you won't be able to heal yourself if that's what you're thinking." Kankuro said. "And there's no antidote. It's a new poison I've created, and I'm glad to see it's working. I was waiting for a perfect opportunity to experiment with it, particularly on lowlife scum like you."

Kabuto tried to move, but it was as if his body wasn't listening to his mind. It felt like an eternity to be able to move an inch. This wasn't good.

Mimi tried to see what was going on, noticing that the guy with the glasses stopped moving...the both of them seemed to be talking about something, but Mimi wasn't able to hear them.

"Usually, I would have diluted this by 100,000," Kankuro said, showing him a small bottle with an odd colored liquid inside. "But I felt it was best to test the fully concentrated solution on you, since you wanted to be a coward and stoop as low as to kidnapping a civilian who won't be able to fight you back," he continued, taking out a kunai.

"If you had a problem with me, you should have come to me face to face, not bring my woman into this." Kankuro said, pointing the kunai to his throat. "Because of that, I'm going to make sure you feel every second of the pain I'm going to put you through."

Kabuto's heart raced, breaking a sweat as he realized there was nothing he can do to stop him.

"You were quick to compare me to my brother, but I'm content being nothing like him. You see, the difference between me and my brother, is that Gaara would have been kind enough to kill you quickly. But me, not so much." He sneered. "One second will feel like eternities to you. And the increased sensory input will make you feel the pain so immensely that you're going to _beg_ to die by the time I'm done with you," he said.

Kabuto saw Kankuro smirk, raising his arms, the strings of chakra on his fingertips leading to a myriad of puppets that had multiple kunai aimed directly at him. Kabuto cursed himself. If he wasn't stunted by this poison, he would have won this battle easily. He should have known the puppet master would have had some new tricks up his sleeve.

_This guy is a twisted sadist! _Kabuto thought as he felt the gradual, excruciatingly painful blood loss as the slow, searing pain of the kunai sliced through him. _How much time has passed...centuries...millennia...I just want this to be over!_

"You're an idiot if you thought I was going to let you off easy, especially if you had the nerve to compare me to my father. But that's what happens when you think less of me." Kankuro said. "I can see it in your face that you're already regretting the moment you decided to lay a hand on her. That was my goal the moment I stepped in here. It's only a matter of time before this place caves in since I used my puppet to drill a hole in the ground. Not only are you going to feel yourself bleeding to death, but you're also going to feel your bones get crushed as the rocks fall on you. Who's the fool now?" He said before slitting him in the throat. He gathered all his puppets, returning them to his scrolls.

Kabuto fell face first into the ground, bleeding out, a pool of blood forming around him. Mimi looked at the scene, shocked. Well. That left her speechless. She's never in her life witnessed something that gruesome before. Noticing Kankuro walking toward her, she vigorously shook her head as a warning for him to leave.

"Why did you come? There's a group of guys that are trying to kill you!" Mimi said after he untied the cloth from her mouth. "You have to get out of here!"

"And just leave you?" He said, untying her wrists and ankles and picking her up in his arms. "This place is going to cave in soon."

Kankuro exited the cavern, putting Mimi down after they were back on the ground.

"So this is what took Kabuto so long," a voice said once they landed on the ground. "The puppet master actually managed to get her back."

"That's impressive. He'll definitely be of use to us." Another one of the men said.

Mimi saw that it was the same man that she recognized from earlier. They were surrounded.

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Kabuto laid in his own blood, feeling the floor start to shake. This place was going to cave in soon, and he could barely move a muscle. It felt like forever since he first got touched by the poison. Over what seemed like centuries, he saw a shadow that gradually came closer to him, but he wasn't concerned much with it. It was probably death finally coming to him.

The legendary sannin walked into the crumbling cave, observing the state of his minion. "Well, you've met a terrible fate, haven't you?"


	14. Misunderstandings

**A/N: Next chapter's here. I passed my boards, so I'll have more time to work on this fanfic now. I'm so relieved.**

***Lyrics are not mine!**

"Sorry that I've failed you, Lord Kazekage," Ryu said, upset with himself as he was let out of the puppet he had been trapped in. The Kazekage was with many other sand shinobi now, including some of the elders of the Suna Council.

"You did well in stalling him." Gaara said encouragingly. Gaara hadn't completely expected Ryu to be able to subdue him indefinitely, but he knew that Ryu would be able to stall Kankuro long enough to buy time until he thought of something. According to Ryu, he hadn't been trapped in the puppet for long, though Gaara was upset that himself and the elders didn't catch up to them on time, though only by a small timeframe. Now Kankuro is out in the desert alone and vulnerable, which in turn exacerbates the issue, since he has to focus on retrieving not one person, but two. If Temari had been present and wasn't pregnant, this whole thing would have been much easier since she would have been able to subdue Kankuro and talk some sense into him; she's one of the few people that Kankuro _might_ listen to, if not the only person when he was upset. But as a kage, it is one's job to adapt to new changes and think of solutions quickly to new situations.

"We have come up with a plan," Baki said to Ryu. "We've gathered many shinobi to ensure that everything works out in our favor, and you are needed just in case any of them sustain injuries. Come, we have to act soon."

Gaara nodded. "I will stay here to ensure the safety of the village."

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Mimi looked around at the shinobi surrounding them, hoping that there would be some type of way to get out of this, but they were stuck. Darn, why did Kankuro come? He was outnumbered. She didn't want him to get hurt. And now it was already dark in the outskirts of nowhere in this desert. This just would make it easier for these people.

"I'm glad me and you are finally able to meet face to face." The tanned man said to Kankuro. "I'm Dami Shirogane. I've been wanting to collaborate with you for some time now. I heard you were able to rob one of the most well guarded banks in the north all by yourself. I wouldn't have expected any less from a person who works side by side with the Kazekage. After I found out you were a puppeteer, you'd caught my interest."

"Why the hell would you think that I'd be interested in collaborating with you?" Kankuro said rudely. Shirogane...that name sounded familiar. This was the clan responsible for the puppet walkers! But what did they need him for? And how did they find out about that robbery? Gaara told him the village made efforts to keep that incident as secret as possible. The only reasonable conclusion that Kankuro could come down with is that there was probably someone from the clan that was currently up north for certain reasons and witnessed it the day it happened. But why would they be up north in the Land of Snow in the first place? He didn't know...it was all speculation.

"Because you don't have much of a choice." Dami said evilly. "Lucky you have your little lady friend with you. This will make it much easier for us. Grab her." He ordered his subordinates.

"Hey, let her go!" Kankuro said angrily as they quickly grabbed Mimi and had weapons aimed in her direction. "I suggest you let her go if you don't want to suffer the same fate as that scum with the glasses." Kankuro said, looking at Dami angrily.

"That wouldn't be very wise. Kabuto's plan worked out perfectly, even if it didn't turn out so well for him. He weakened you so you won't be able to take all of us on, and we have you surrounded." Dami said casually. "And you won't lift a finger at any of us. One wrong move and we won't hesitate to kill her if you don't do what I say."

Kankuro glared at him. _Damn._

"Good. It seems like you're willing to cooperate. Follow me." Dami said.

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The sun was already set by the time the two sand shinobi were nearing the edge of the desert. Holding each other's hands, they enjoyed the peace and tranquility the open, vast desert brought them, appreciating the alone time they had together.

"What a nice night," one of them said as a light breeze passed them. "We should definitely do this more often." He said to his partner, smiling.

"You think the Kazekage will send us on more missions together if we request it?" The other one said, looking down at him.

"Well, yeah, duh. We're on a team, so we work better together. He'd be totally down with that." He replied. "Hey, there's an oasis up ahead. Let's get some water. I can't afford for my skin to look all dehydrated."

As they refilled their canteens in the oasis, they saw figures in the distance near the oasis. Something seemed off. The both of them, suspecting something, quietly followed them, making sure to stay hidden within the small trees and shrubs.

"Oh my God, isn't that the Kazekage's brother? What's he doing all the way out here with those people?" Robitu whispered to Toroi. "Is he on a mission? Let's go say hi!"

"No, stop! He's not on a mission!" Toroi said, grabbing Robitu before he would blow their cover. "They have weapons pointed at him and that girl. He seems to be in trouble."

"We have to do something!" Robitu said worriedly.

"Shhhh! What are we going to do? We're on a mission." Toroi hissed back.

"Our mission is going to have to wait-" Robitu started to say before Toroi interrupted.

"Why do I _always_ get sidetracked when I'm with you?" Toroi said, looking up to the heavens, even though he knew that this time, the situation was really out of their control.

"Look, if something happens to that guy the Kazekage's gonna go all apeshit and turn on everyone in the village!" Robitu said quietly. "I'd rather keep him on his good side. That is one man I would not like to see mad."

Toroi gave him a look of disbelief, wondering if that nonsense was really coming out of his teammate's mouth. "Stop being dramatic. The Kazekage is not going to do that."

"Hn, that's what _you_ think. Who knows what's going to make him crack? He's like a bomb waiting to detonate...all quiet and then one thing happens and _snap_. We're done for. I don't know about everyone else, but _I'm_ not going to forget that he had us scared shitless back when we were kids. That good guy role he's playing could be a huge farce. I'd rather play it safe."

Toroi stared at him flatly.

"Hey, if we help the Kazekage's brother, that's totally going to give us a good name in Suna, and maybe the Kazekage will put us in like, ANBU or something. That will have us on his good side for sure, so if he ever does snap, he's gonna spare us and say 'thanks for saving my brother.'" Robitu reasoned.

"Oh yeah, that definitely should be the main reason we should help him, and not because he's a comrade." Toroi said sarcastically. Where the hell were this guy's priorities at?

"Well, that too, of course! Come on! If we see where they go, I can spy while you set a huge trap." Robitu said, looking to follow them as the two men started to walk quietly to the other side of the mountain range.

"The things I do for this guy..." Toroi said, following reluctantly. "Damn, where'd they go? We have to catch up to them! If you weren't ranting about the Kazekage we wouldn't have lost track!"

"Let's hurry, they can't be that far ahead..."

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Mimi was tied to a chair after she entered some hideout in the mountains, facing Kankuro and the rest of the people that took them. One of the men was standing beside her, ready to kill her if Kankuro does something they don't like. They were in some type of interrogation room, and they chained him to a chair as well. The room was dimly lit, making it feel even more intimidating than it already was.

"You'll only be chained here temporarily. We have some other tasks for you to complete for us. But I want to ask you some questions first. And you better answer each one, or we'll hit you with a metal rod. Ningyo, show him what we'll do." Dami ordered to one of the men in the room with them.

Ningyo smacked Kankuro with the metal rod across the face, causing him to get a bloody lip.

"Hey, don't do that to him! Stop!" Mimi yelled.

"And if you still don't cooperate, we'll shut her up too," Dami added. "After that, we're gonna keep you with us so you can build puppets for us. The puppets we had built to try and take over the five great nations didn't work, and they're not effective enough to access where the spirit orbs are hidden. We'll be able to succeed if you fix our puppets to work better. If you try to retaliate, we'll find a way to force it out of you. It's not the first time we've done experiments on people, and trust me, we're all curious to see the type of knowledge you can share with us, whether you like it or not."

Dami started asking questions about Kankuro's methods of fighting, his secrets, information about Suna and Konoha, how he designed his puppets and a bunch of other stuff that Mimi didn't really understand. What upset her is that they sometimes still hit him even when he was cooperating. She wished there was some way for them to get out of here. It hurt her to see Kankuro like this. She wished she could get him out of here and comfort him. But she had to stay quiet because they threatened to hit him harder if she kept telling them to stop.

Kankuro didn't care what these guys did to him. He wasn't going to share any information about his techniques, or the secrets of Suna either. Did they really think he was that stupid? And these simpletons were actually believing the lies that he was telling them. It was only a matter of time before they figure out that he's not telling the truth, though. He needed to figure out a way to get out of here without them hurting Mimi. If they hurt her he'll make it his mission to kill every single one of them. Looking around to try and see what options he had, he looked up to see that someone was already here. He smirked. He was definitely going to get out of here.

Eventually Mimi saw someone in the room who wasn't in the room previously. He didn't look like he belonged with the guys, and he seemed to be stealthily sneaking around the room. How weren't any of them seeing him? The man smiled at Mimi, winking, putting his finger to his mouth as an indicator to be quiet. Was this guy a shinobi from the sand? He was wearing the forehead protector around his neck, so he had to be. But he was a bit too good looking to be doing this type of work, in Mimi's opinion. He was really...pretty. He would have fared well taking up a career as a model.

"Just what are you smirking about? I wouldn't be smirking if I was in your situation, puppet master." Dami told him.

"Because I fucking feel like it," Kankuro said after he saw a sand shinobi enter the room without them noticing. He must be using some type of jutsu for them not to be able to see him when he was right there in front of them. But Kankuro's snarky reply caused Ningyo to hit him roughly on the arm with the metal rod, and he cringed in pain.

"Don't hurt his arms too much; we need his arms." Dami said. "Alright, now I want to know more about your poisons-"

There was a loud bang outside of the room. It sounded like an explosion, close enough in their vicinity for the floor to shake slightly. Dami ordered two of the guys in the room to go check it out, but all they heard was more commotion after the two guys left.

"What's going on out there? Let's go," Dami said, ordering the man next to Mimi to stay and keep an eye on them.

After a short silence, Robitu seemed to have become visible to the man next to Mimi, because he immediately got in a defensive stance.

"Please, don't waste your time," Robitu said. "I may not be able to handle all of you, but I can definitely handle one of you."

In what seemed like one swift move, Mimi was untied, and the man next to her had a chain tightly wound around his neck, the chain breaking it. Did the pretty guy do all that with his chain? How did he do that? He barely even moved from where he was standing.

"They really bruised you up, didn't they?" The guy said rhetorically, freeing Kankuro after dealing with the Shirogane. "Let's get out of this place."

"Thanks," Kankuro said. "How did you find us?"

"Well, I'm currently supposed to be on a mission right now...but me and my partner saw you guys when we went to get some more water. We figured something weird was going on, so we decided to check it out."

Kankuro stood up, feeling pain in different parts of his body where he was hit multiple times. He was still able to move, though, so there was a chance that he would be able to get out of here. He grabbed his scrolls with the puppets in them that were taken away from him and tossed aside, getting himself ready for a fight. Leaving the room they were in, they rushed through the hideout, trying to look for the exit. As they got closer to where they came in from, they saw that Dami and some other Shiroganes were waiting. The ones that were previously in the interrogation room were missing. It must have had something to do with the explosion that just happened.

"We're not going to let you get away that easily," Dami said, all of them having puppets to fight with. "We need you to be able to access the location of the spirit orbs, and-"

"Oh _shut up_. I swear, what is up with opponents not shutting their traps? Can we just start fighting already?" The guy with the chain said assuredly before turning to Mimi. "You might want to stand back."

"Wait a second," Kankuro said, putting the pieces together, remembering when he had to warn Konoha about the puppet walkers. The spirit orbs...it's all starting to make sense. It was probably put in that bank for safe keeping after their failed attempt at trying to take over the five nations. "So that's how you found out about the robbery in the Land of Snow...you were most likely there when the robbery happened, because one of the spirit orbs are located in that bank. You were trying to figure out where it's located until you witnessed me escaping the bank. Me being a puppet master who managed to steal something, you concluded that I was exactly what you needed so you can finally recreate the master puppet again, isn't that right?"

"Well, well, you're a lot smarter than you look." Dami said. "You figured us out."

"Your plan is flawed, and it's not going to work." Kankuro told him. "I can make you the best puppets, but the puppets are just tools. It's the puppeteer that controls them, so if you don't have the skill to use them right, you're not going to be able to obtain that spirit orb, no matter how hard you try."

"Well, then I guess we're in luck, since we have you." Dami said to him. "So you have two choices: surrender now and work for us, or get killed and have us extract the skill that we need from you so we _can_ get the spirit orb."

"And the third option is that we kick your ass," the guy with the chain said, growing impatient. "Enough blabbing, more fighting. Let's get this overwith!"

The both of them were able to fight them for a while, but they were still outnumbered, and Kankuro was weakened and injured with one of his arms not able to hold chakra for long due to Kabuto's bite, so that brought them at a disadvantage. There seemed to be more people from this clan coming for them as well from other parts of the hideout. Their chances of winning seemed bleak. But as they were about to get surrounded again, there was an array of Suna shinobi that came in from the entrance of the hideout. Kankuro recognized them: it was Maki, Otokaze, Satetsu, and Isago. The other shinobi were outside prepared for a battle, Matsuri and her team among them. After being led outside the hideout, the members of the Shirogane clan retreated after seeing that there were more Suna shinobi waiting for them. Dami didn't expect the shinobi of Suna to find them so fast. The person who caused the first explosion during their interrogation must have helped them. He knew that if his clan fought them at this moment, they wouldn't have had a chance. They would be outnumbered, and they haven't reached their full potential as a clan yet.

Ryu walked to Kankuro with a team of two other medics after it was confirmed that everything was safe and the coast was clear. Ryu sighed as he attended to Kankuro's wounds while the other two medics went to assess the others.

"You never learn, do you?" Ryu said, sighing.

"You're acting like you wouldn't have done the same thing. You would be in my place if Kabuto had taken the wrong girl."

Ryu didn't say anything for a moment as he attended to his wounds. He did have a point.

"We've already lost enough great puppet masters. We don't need to lose another one. I think you've taken your chance with death enough for one lifetime, even for a shinobi." He finally said.

"Hn, whatever," Kankuro said, reminded of the time he got fatally poisoned by Sasori. He would always be thankful to Sakura for saving his life. When he first met her, he honestly didn't think much of her...he thought considering her a kunoichi was kind of a joke, actually, since she displayed very little skill and seemed to be more preoccupied with chasing after some guy. Her fight with Ino in the Chunnin exams wasn't much to look at, either. But being trained by the Fifth Hokage set her straight, and he now had a lot of respect for her.

Mimi rushed to Kankuro after Ryu healed him since he wanted to talk to his teammates about something while the others were busy discussing what was to be reported when they returned to Suna. The guy that saved them seemed to be keeping them busy, adamantly talking about informing the Kazekage of his actions. There was another tall guy with him trying to figure out whether they should go back to the village or if it was okay if they could continue on the mission they were on if they reported to the group of Suna shinobi what had went on. The tall guy also handed something over to the Suna shinobi that came to back them up. It looked like a puppet, but not like the ones that Kankuro had. There was something eerie about it. It looked like something that was dug from a grave. Mimi shrugged it off, not wanting to think about what it could possibly be, and turned to Kankuro.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried," she said, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you for saving me."

"Alright, alright, get off, midget. No need to get so emotional." Kankuro said, a bit flustered. He thought no one was looking, but noticed Matsuri and her teammate giggling a short distance away looking at them. He didn't want an audience.

Mimi sighed, expecting that kind of reaction from him. She wanted to hug him for longer, but backed off. She didn't understand him. He had his moments where he was affectionate, and then there were moments where he acted like a huge jerk. But she was willing to accept that since he just saved her; it made her look at him more fondly than she already did.

"So, Maki, what do you think of my grand act of heroism?" Robitu asked after they told him to describe the events that occurred. "Are you going to tell the Kazekage about my honorable act?"

Maki gave him an annoyed look before ignoring his question and turning to the others.

"Can you stop asking everyone that? You're making yourself look worse." Toroi said angrily to Robitu. "Do you guys need us to return to Suna before resuming our mission?"

"It doesn't seem so. You've given us enough information and evidence to work with. They've retreated for now, but who knows what else they have planned," Maki said.

"They didn't seem to be strong enough to handle us right now." Otokaze said. "That gives us enough time to get prepared if they have something else up their sleeve."

"We must be prepared for the future. It could cost our village the next time. Come on, we need to go back to Suna to see if the Kazekage and the rest of the village is safe." Satetsu said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A couple of days later, Gaara sat in his office with Baki, discussing the best options to take for the village as the recent turn of events kept growing into something more than what he had foreseen. If what Kankuro said was true about the spirit orbs, then this was a very serious situation. Right now, they were unaware of how many spirit orbs the Shirogane clan had at the moment. All he knew was that one of the spirit orbs were put away in that bank some point in time after their first attempt at trying to take over the five nations. Since he was unaware of where the others might be located, he had to prepare for a worst case scenario, and assume that they already had four of the five spirit orbs. If all five were to be obtained, they would be in serious trouble, because this could be the return of the Master Puppet.

"Orochimaru's alive and was partially responsible for Suna getting frozen over, and now this." Gaara said to Baki. "I have no doubts that this clan is going to try something again in the near future. We have to prepare for oncoming problems. We were lucky this time, learning about their location since Robitu and Toroi tracked them. Otokaze informed me that Toroi was expecting jonin to come looking for Kankuro, and showed them where Kankuro was when he spotted them wandering in the desert to specify where the clan was residing. He also planted a trap in the hideout, so it exploded soon after everyone left. All the puppets in that hideout were destroyed, but Toroi managed to get us some clues before the place disintegrated. Next time, we may not be so lucky."

"I have a feeling those two incidents may be connected. Kabuto had been involved in this." Baki said.

"It's a possibility, but I've been keeping in contact with the elders from the village in the Land of Snow. Kabuto had been acting of his own accord lately."

"His loyalties and actions have always been questionable. I suggest you keep your eyes peeled, Lord Kazekage. There might be more to this than what meets the eye. If he had been acting of his own accord, then we need to figure out what he was doing here. If he had no malicious motivations, he would have still been in the Land of Snow. He had no business being around this area."

Gaara nodded. "From our knowledge, Kabuto is dead. That is one less problem to worry about."

"Have you discovered the body?" Baki asked.

"No. He had been buried under a collapsing cave in the mountains. If he managed to escape that by himself, then it would have to have been by grim chances, or extraneous circumstances."

"I suggest you keep those possibilities open until you find evidence of his death." Baki advised.

Gaara agreed. "I need to schedule a meeting with the other kages. All of us need to be informed of this before anything gets out of hand."

Baki nodded, before an awkward silence lingered in the air. Gaara couldn't really decipher what the look Baki had on his face meant.

"...Are there any other concerns?" Gaara asked.

"Lord Kazekage, there has been something I've been wanting to speak to you about but...due to the recent events that have occurred, I was unable to get around to it until now. It's important."

Gaara looked at Baki questionably. If it was as important as he says, then why did he have to wait until now to say something? He eyed him, waiting for Baki to voice his concerns.

"I was picked to approach you about this situation, since I have a closer connection with you than the others."

"What is it?" Gaara asked.

Baki cleared his throat. "...If I'm not mistaken, you are aware of the rumors going around."

"What rumors?" Gaara asked, though he knew where this was going. He anticipated that this was going to come up sooner or later.

"The relationship between you and your student." Baki stated directly.

"And?" Gaara said. "They're just rumors."

"There has to be a reason for these rumors to be arising." Baki stated.

"I spent time with her during the festival. It was nothing out of the ordinary. It's not uncommon for people to come up with stories over something that is completely innocent. This isn't the first time a rumor like this has come up."

"It is different now. You are the Kazekage, and you can't afford to have these types of things said about you. It doesn't help that she is now working more directly with you." Baki told Gaara. "And the details of these rumors aren't necessarily...delightful to hear." He added.

"As the Kazekage, rumors that are spread about me aren't my priority; my village is. She is working with me because Temari is no longer present, and I am content with her work."

Baki looked at the Kazekage intently. He hasn't denied any of these claims at all. He couldn't believe this. He had expected this type of flagrant disregard for rules and authority from Kankuro, not him.

"Lord Kazekage, as a person that used to be your jonin commander, I'm telling you a romantic relationship with your student is completely inappropriate. Do you understand how disgraceful that is? You are her _sensei_. You are expected to find a prestigious wife, who is _not_ your student."

"So you believe these rumors?" Gaara asked, hopefully to make him think the opposite.

"You haven't denied them. Give me a direct answer. Are these rumors true?" Baki said, not falling for Gaara's attempt to deter his suspicions.

Gaara stood silent for a moment. He didn't want to lie to any of the seniors, especially Baki, but he felt that this was part of his personal life, and the seniors should have no say in it, especially if it's not affecting his performance as the Kazekage. He would have never expected this lack of privacy.

"Do you honestly believe that a romantic relationship with your student is going to work in your favor?! I thought you had more sense than this, Lord Kazekage. You cannot do this! A sensei's relationship with their student is supposed to remain professional. All you're doing is taking advantage of your authority and her admiration for you-"

Gaara glared at Baki angrily after hearing that assumption. Who did he think he was to make that type of accusation? Did the seniors still think he was the type of person to do something like that to someone?

"I would never take advantage of Matsuri. All of this drivel doesn't matter. She is no longer my student, and my romantic interests have nothing to do with my work as the Kazekage." Gaara said crossly. "The only thing inappropriate here is you attempting to ask me about these personal matters as if they're your own."

"You haven't answered any my questions directly! Are these rumors true?" Baki asked again.

"That isn't your concern or anyone else's concern. I think we're done here." Gaara said angrily, giving Baki a cold look.

"Very well then." Baki said. "We aren't done discussing this." He said before leaving the office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Later..._

Mimi and Rubi were in Sutera's home, having tea after a long, boring day. The both of them did their best to resume back to their normal everyday assignments, though Mimi preferred to stay in Rubi's house after everything. Being in her own place didn't bring particularly good memories.

"Sheesh, I get caught up in a couple of dates for the last couple of days and you guys ended up getting yourselves kidnapped?!" Sutera said, worried and upset. "What will the both of you do without me?"

"Hey, I didn't 'get myself kidnapped.'" Rubi said. "Mimi did. I just got attacked and tied up."

"Way to throw me under the bus," Mimi said, raising a brow at Rubi.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm on your side. You think I want to relive that?! I was so scared! That guy was a lunatic!"

"I'm just glad the both of you are okay. This is just so shocking, you know? You don't think that this type of stuff will happen to your friends...this is the type of thing that you hear about other people that you've never met."

"I know..." Rubi said. "Luckily Ryu found me. Who knows how long I would've been tied there...and there were shinobi asking me a bunch of questions after that. It was just crazy."

"What about you, Mimi? Where were you taken to?"

"I don't really want to talk about this..." Mimi said. Not only did she not want to think about what happened, she was advised to be wary of who she shares the information with due to the potential threat that this can have to the village, even though that wouldn't be a huge problem. She barely understood that whole thing about the spirit orb and the master puppet. It was like they were speaking another language to her, kind of like when she was trying to explain the ins and outs of economics and accounting to the Kazekage. She wasn't really ready to acknowledge everything now anyway. The events that happened were still fresh in her head. She was just glad that Kankuro was okay. His injuries weren't as bad as they could have turned out to be and he was healed easily. She was really thankful for that guy with the chain named Robitu. She didn't even want to imagine how things could have turned out if he hadn't turned up. She knew that the Suna shinobi were looking for them, but Kankuro could have ended up in a worse condition than how they found him if they didn't have help sooner. It was why she's been more generous with him lately. It didn't really dawn on her until then that because of his lifestyle, she could lose him easily, and she didn't want that to happen.

"Oh, okay. I understand." Sutera said. "How about you go on a double date with me tomorrow? It'll get your mind off of all that scary stuff, _and_ you get to spend time with an awesome guy."

"Can you stop it with that? I already told you I wasn't interested." Mimi said irritably.

"Too late. I already told him you were coming." Sutera said curtly, as if she's proud of the trap she put Mimi in.

"Why would you do that Sutera?! That's not cool!"

"I _told_ you I was going to help you get you out of this dry spell you're in." Sutera told her, getting a snicker from Rubi which Sutera interpreted as her laughing at Mimi for it, when in reality, she was laughing because Mimi wasn't close to having a dry spell at all. "And now I really think you should try this out because I feel like you need to get your mind off of what happened. You've been all paranoid and maybe this will distract you for a little while. You don't even want to go back in your own place! Please? I don't want to leave him hanging as a third wheel."

Mimi groaned. "Can't you take Rubi with you or something?"

"For what? So her and Ryu can get in another stupid argument? I want to be spared the drama and torture."

"Hey!" Rubi said, scowling.

"Just give it a chance. The guy is really nice and he plays guitar." Sutera said. "Rubi agrees with me too. Right?"

"I never said that..." Rubi mumbled.

Mimi looked away guiltily at the thought of her going on a date with a guy she never met. "But...I don't want to..." she said, defeated.

"You're acting like you have a boyfriend or something. Loosen up for once!"

Mimi blushed. Did Sutera know? No, she definitely did _not_ know. No one did, except Rubi. "N-no! I don't have a boyfriend!" She said. Why was she getting all nervous? It's not like it wasn't true. She _didn't_ have a boyfriend.

"Oh my...so you _are_ seeing someone!" Sutera said, reading her facial expression. "Don't deny it, you can't lie to me! Who is it?"

"I'm not!" Mimi denied.

"Yeah, she's not seeing anyone, Sutera. We would have known by now." Rubi said to defend Mimi. By now, Mimi knew that Rubi knew about the both of them because Kabuto basically spilled the beans and it would have been useless to try and deny it.

"Are you guys hiding something from me?" Sutera said, eyeing the both of them. "You guys are keeping a secret from me!"

"No!" Rubi and Mimi said at the same time, but that just made it more suspicious.

"Fine, if you guys want to be that way, then I'm going to do it the hard way." Sutera said, starting to ask the names of different guys in Suna to see if she would guess right, much to the chagrin of Mimi. Eventually, she did get a reaction from Mimi that she desired as she thought of as many guys as Mimi could have possibly interacted with.

"Is it the Kazekage?" Sutera asked.

"_What__?_" Mimi said, feeling more dumbfounded than amused at the presumption. "No way! Not in a million years."

"Really, the Kazekage, Sutera?" Rubi said plainly. "Now you're just thinking of random people. And they would be completely incompatible if they got together."

"Hey, it could have been a possibility. He did call her over to his office that one day...maybe it was because he wanted a date. And he's hot."

"That will never be a possibility. Can you guys stop talking about me and the Kazekage like that? It's grossing me out." Mimi said, wanting to cringe at that thought. She's never thought of the Kazekage that way, and she wasn't planning on starting to anytime soon. "It was an important mission. He didn't want a date! And he makes me uncomfortable sometimes, like if he's testing me or something."

"Rumor has it he has a girlfriend. Haven't you heard?" Rubi added.

"It's just a rumor. Who knows if that's even true or not?" Sutera said. "Wait, what about that puppet guy who always dresses in black?" Sutera asked nonchalantly, not really expecting much of a reaction for that suggestion. "You know who I'm talking about...the one that's always with the Kazekage. He was on the roof with Ryu that day, remember?"

"N-no..." Mimi said quietly, trying to hide her face as she felt her face heat up at the thought of him. _Not now, not now!_ Mimi told herself as she already knew her face gave everything away.

"It _is_ him!" Sutera said, excited at her discovery. "Why didn't you tell me he was your boyfriend?!"

"Because he's not..." Mimi said, not really knowing how to feel about that fact.

"Then why don't you just go on the date tomorrow if you guys aren't an item? Since you're into those rebellious artistic type guys this would be perfect!"

"I-I don't know. It's not that simple..." Mimi said. Her and Kankuro haven't been acting much different since they came back from the outskirts of the desert, though she couldn't help but be more affectionate with him when no one was around. Now she was completely infatuated, and she was stuck in a limerence that she doubted will ever be reciprocated in the way she desired. A part of her hated that he had this type of affect on her and he wasn't even aware of it. But it was hard for her not to feel this way when he did things that made her want him even more...what a jerk.

"Why? What are you guys then?" Rubi asked, wanting to know.

"I'm not sure. I guess technically we're just messing around...but it doesn't feel that way...it feels like so much more, but I don't think he sees it that way."

"Oh, I've been there," Sutera said. "Take it from me, don't put all your eggs in one basket. You're setting yourself up for disappointment." She said simply.

"I dunno, Sutera, you sure that's a good idea?" Rubi asked. "Wouldn't it just be easier if Mimi just asked him how he felt?"

"Absolutely not! She can't make herself look desperate. Then he'll just run away! Trust me, Mimi, heed my words. If you go on a couple of dates with some other guys, you might find one who's more open about their intentions and you won't have to worry about playing a guessing game."

"Uh...I don't know..." Mimi pondered. Even though logically it made sense, her heart wasn't for it.

"I'm not saying you have to sleep with them. Just try it out," she insisted.

Mimi sighed. Sutera did have a point. She couldn't just hope for something that wasn't going to happen...but then why did the idea of doing it feel so wrong?

"I guess you're right. I'll try it..." She finally decided. It was just a small date, and Sutera was going to be with her. It's not like she had any intention of taking it further with this guy, so just spending the day with them wouldn't be so bad. She can go on this date and not speak to him again, simple. And it might turn out fun. It wouldn't hurt to avoid being reclusive for once.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi stood with Sutera the next day, eyeing the laid back looking man standing in front of her after being introduced. He had a loose, white t-shirt on with an open button down with an odd colorful pattern over it. His sandy colored shaggy hair was mostly covered with a hat that looked similar to a beanie, and he was carrying a guitar. Standing next to him was Sutera's date, a handsome, dark skinned man that had blond hair and piercing, pupil less green eyes. He didn't even look like he was from around here. The thought popped in her head as to where Sutera even met these types of guys.

"Hi, I'm Yorokobi." The guy with the guitar said to Mimi, eyeing her through his heavy lidded eyes.

"Hey," Mimi said. He seemed nice enough. Maybe this wouldn't turn out to be so bad.

The four of them spent the day walking around Suna, deciding to settle down near a shady area around where the training fields were. They all sat down on the cooled ground, making small talk about random things that ranged from the village to their jobs. Mimi learned that Yorokobi worked in a small family business in the village, and he did gigs on the side when he had free time.

"My family having a business is more chilled out for me," Yorokobi explained. "I have the advantage of them being more flexible with my hours if something unexpected comes up. I never know when I'm going to get a new gig. I could never use the 'family emergency' excuse if I want to call out, though."

Mimi smiled at his last comment.

"Hey guys, there's this store I've been wanting to check out for some time now with Taiki. You don't mind if we split, do you?" Sutera asked Yorokobi and Mimi.

Mimi gave her a pleading look, not really wanting to feel awkward and have to keep up a conversation with someone she just met that day. She should have known that Sutera planned to do this from the beginning. Great. Now how was she supposed to get herself out of this? Sutera was going to pay for this inconvenience later.

"It's cool. Have fun." Yorokobi said calmly. Really, absolutely nothing seemed to bother the guy.

"See you guys later," Sutera said, sneaking a wink at Mimi before walking away with her own date.

Oh, she was _definitely_ going to pay for this later. So much for a so called "double date."

Mimi looked around, hoping that her environment would help her bring something up. Why was she so bad at this? It was much easier when Sutera was here. Has it really been this long since she's went on a date? She didn't have this problem with Kiba...but she did spend enough time with him to break the ice before she started to hang out with him more. And she didn't really have this problem with Yujiro and her other two boyfriends before him...but in hindsight, it was because they spent most of their time talking about themselves as if they just were in love with the sound of their own voice. It was her first time meeting this guy, so it was a bit different.

"Want to hear a new song I've been working on?" Yorokobi asked Mimi.

"Yeah, sure." Mimi said, relieved that he didn't seem to mind the awkward silence that had been slowly building between them.

Taking out his guitar, he started playing a nice, acoustic melody that was easy to tune in to. "I don't have a name for the song yet." He said before singing.

_Well I heard that it might be raining bed sheets and lover's words_  
_ Let's throw out the hotel comforter and hang the 'do not disturb'_  
_ Sign me up for the storm_  
_ I'll wear my suit for the shower_  
_ Cause I'll have you to keep me warm in the coldest hour...*****_

Mimi smiled. He had a lovely voice. This was definitely a better date than any of the ones she went on with Yujiro.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro walked along Suna, having gotten some new items he needed as maintenance for his puppets. He had just come from Gaara's office beforehand; Gaara was planning on sending him back to the Land of Snow to try and talk to the elders about the spirit orb in their bank. They had to ensure them to find a new hiding place for the spirit orb before the Shirogane clan is able to get to it. He needed to make sure he was more prepared this time, and he found a way for his puppets to be resilient to them getting frozen. Though he wouldn't be there to start a fight with the shinobi there like last time, he had to be ready for anything.

"Hey, what are you up to today? Surprised you're not in the Kazekage's office at this time," Kankuro heard Ryu ask as he spotted Kankuro walking along the hot, dry streets.

"He's pissed off about something again. I'll deal with him later." Kankuro said nonchalantly. Something did seem to be bothering Gaara, but he didn't seem willing to say anything about it at the moment, especially because of the newfound threat. He figured it might have had something to do with Baki, since he had seen him walking out of Gaara's office looking upset.

"You busy right now?" Ryu prodded.

"I was going to fix some of my puppets-"

"Sheesh, can't you get a new hobby? Give your puppets a break for once."

"Well, what do you expect? I'm a puppeteer. And I have to get ready for a mission."

"You're not just _a _puppeteer. You're _the _puppeteer. Your puppets can wait. Come train with me first! It'll help you for your mission so you can't make any excuses."

Kankuro eyed him, annoyed. "What do you mean I'm making excuses?"

"I mean you're afraid of me surpassing you." Ryu teased, knowing that he wasn't going to refuse if he's being challenged.

"You mean you're still down to try and beat me after the way I locked you in my puppet?" Kankuro teased back.

"That's not gonna stop me," Ryu said defiantly.

Kankuro smirked. "Fine, but don't get mad when I keep winning. This was your idea."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Approaching the training grounds, Ryu rushed in, eager to train again.

"I've been practicing a new jutsu, and I can't wait to finally use it on you." Ryu said smugly. This jutsu was meant to put puppet users at a disadvantage, and he was confident that he finally perfected it so he can be able to beat Kankuro for once. And if his technique worked on Kankuro, it would work on any puppet user. He had been working on it recently, but it still needed some work. After the incident that got him trapped in Kankuro's puppet, he was determined to perfect it.

Kankuro snickered. "Does it involve you getting stuck in your own trap?"

"You'll never let me live that down, will you?" Ryu said dejectedly.

But once again, Kankuro was able to counter everything he did, and he wasn't even bluffing this time. Ryu sighed. At this rate, he'll never be able to keep up with him. He hadn't used his new jutsu yet, though. He was waiting for the right timing to be able to do it...but he was thrown off by a melodic tune coming from somewhere nearby.

_...and crazy is the forecast all week..._

"Where on earth is that singing coming from?" Ryu asked, looking around.

"Who cares?" Kankuro said, after hearing it when Ryu pointed it out. "Just drown it out. That shit sounds terrible anyway."

But Ryu was insistent on figuring out where it was coming from. Who would play music around here? This is a place to train...and then he saw them. Oh, this is golden. He had to see his rival's reaction to this.

"I think you should care since he's trying to sing to your little secret." Ryu joked, spotting the source of the noise at a small area near the training grounds where there was a significant amount of shade.

"Stop clowning around. We came here to train, not make jokes." Kankuro said, ignoring his foolish comment.

"I'm not joking." Ryu said, amused at the situation. "She doesn't seem to think it's terrible," he added, pointing to the two of them relaxing in the shade.

_...And everyone might find me foolish to not be counting on the sun_  
_ But your mouth is my umbrella now_  
_ Because I'm holding your tongue..._

Kankuro looked around to where that terribly cheesy and perverted music was coming from, to see that Ryu was actually right, to his surprise.

"Is she fucking serious?" Kankuro said angrily. They've been fine these past couple of days. She was actually being really nice to him...so why was she with this other guy? Was she just trying to toy with him? It didn't seem that way when they spent time together but if she was, he didn't appreciate being led on, especially if she's going to be won over by some loon who looks like a hobo and can't even play good music. He's come across these types of guys before; using a guitar with a shitty tune to try and get laid. He couldn't believe her standards were so low.

Ryu snorted, trying to hold back a loud laugh in hilarity, failing miserably.

"Stop laughing, you moron." Kankuro said, storming irately in the direction of the music with full intention of saving his ears the torture and knocking the guy's teeth out.

"Hey, where're you going? We're not done here!" Ryu called out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mimi liked listening to the guitar playing, wishing that she had learned to play an instrument. She doubted she had any type of musical talent, though. But this was nice. It reminded her of her home, where many of the kids liked to sing and play instruments. There wasn't much to do up there, so many of them preoccupied their time playing music.

But the music stopped abruptly when someone carelessly tossed the guitar from Yorokobi's hands. Why on earth would someone do something like that?

"That's not cool, man..." Yorokobi said, looking up to see who did it.

Mimi looked up from where she was sitting to see Kankuro there, looking irritated. Of _course_ it would be him to do something so rude and unnecessary. No, this couldn't be happening right now. Just when she thought she would get through this smoothly, the worst possible thing had to happen. Mimi felt like an idiot after realizing that something like this _was_ likely to happen, being that they were near the training grounds, though a scarcely occupied area. Why didn't she see this coming? This whole ordeal could have been avoided if she simply relocated somewhere else.

"Kankuro, what are you doing?! Stop!" Mimi said, taken aback at the unexpected interruption. But obviously, Kankuro didn't listen like always, and he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Get the hell out of here, or I'll show you the forecast of my puppet collection." Kankuro said to Yorokobi fiercely. "I predict it's gonna be raining poison."

"Kankuro, let him go!" Mimi insisted, attempting to loosen the grip he had on the guy. Why was he acting like this? "Kankuro-kun, please-"

"Don't sweet talk me." Kankuro said abhorrently, scowling at Mimi, but he eventually listened, thoughtlessly pushing Yorokobi back on the ground.

"Hey, keep the peace, sand brother. No need to get so violent." Yorokobi said, standing up and picking up his guitar before walking away.

Mimi stood up, glaring bitterly at Kankuro. "What was all that about? Can't you be docile for one day? Don't you get tired of being so aggressive all the time? He's not even a shinobi!"

"You're an ungrateful little shit, you know that?" He said indignantly.

"And you're a stubborn, hotheaded asshole." Mimi responded, upset that instead of him telling her what's wrong, he would just resort to name calling. Well, two could play at that game.

"That's not what you were saying about me the other night when you were rid-"

"Whoa, don't finish that! Stop being a pretentious dolt." Mimi said quickly, not in the mood for hearing his vulgarity. "What's your problem now? Don't tell me, you got bored and wanted to start a fight again?"

He clenched his fists in annoyance. He wasn't up for her sarcasm right now.

"I almost got my fucking jaw broken going after you, and this is how you thank me? By running off with some stupid happy-go-lucky hippie?!"

"I _do_ appreciate that you saved me. But this has nothing to do with what happened that night." Mimi said. "I'm just having a good time. What's the big deal?"

"Is that what you do? Just go around trying to sleep with different guys?" He said in disgust at her carelessness.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Mimi said angrily. "That's _not_ what I meant by having a good time! Get your mind out the gutter!"

"Really? Because you already slept with that mutt-"

"Wait, what? I didn't sleep with Kiba, you imbecile. I didn't even kiss him." Mimi said to him, confused. She didn't expect that reply from him. "You seriously think I _slept_ with him?"

"What do you expect me to believe when you stayed with him the whole night?"

Mimi scowled at him, initially offended that he would think she would do something like that. He always had to be so crude about everything...but then another thought popped in her head. Is that what this whole thing was about? "Why are you even getting upset? There's no reason for you to be getting mad. If I did sleep with him, why would you care?"

"...Because...well...I don't like it." He mumbled, not really able to answer the question. Though he was relieved to hear she wasn't dumb enough to sleep with that prick.

"So you think you can just go around picking on people because you don't like it? What kind of authority do you think you have? How many people have _you_ slept with is what should be the real question here, because unlike you, I can count the number of boyfriends I've had with one hand."

"That's not the point." Kankuro said firmly. "Don't turn this around on me."

Mimi had to laugh. "You don't even know, do you?"

Kankuro thought about it for a moment. It never crossed his mind to think of how many until now, and it was...quite a few...well, a lot, to say the least.

"So what? I lost track. And?" He said adamantly.

"You're being a hypocrite." She stated flatly.

Kankuro looked away. She had a point...why was he acting this way? He's never had a problem with girls dating other guys while he messed around with them. He never really cared. What was the difference now? He knew he shouldn't be reacting the way he did, but he didn't like the possibility of her being interested in someone else. Was he not good enough? Even then, he would think she would be less capricious after the events that had happened, especially since she's been acting so much nicer to him. He guessed him going out of his way to save her didn't mean much to her. He realized for the first time, he may have been the one to get burned. After all those other girls, he figured he had it coming to him. "...I see how it is. So I don't mean shit to you." Kankuro said, turning to walk away, torn.

"I didn't say that! Come back here!" Mimi said, tugging his arm. "It's not what-"

"Just leave me alone, Mimi." He said before leaving.

Mimi hung her head, feeling defeated. She knew she shouldn't have gone on this stupid date. Now whatever chances she had with him were most definitely ruined, over someone who she wasn't even interested in. There was no turning back from this. Rubi was right. She has no luck with men.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Can you at least take your head out from under my pillow? It's depressing." Rubi told Mimi as she was thinking of what movie to watch.

"That's how I'm feeling right now. I can't believe I screwed up this bad..." Mimi said, her voice sounding muffled from her head being buried under the pillow. She was in the mood where she didn't want to look at anything. "I should have never taken Sutera's advice."

Rubi sighed. "Sutera...tends to give terrible advice to people. Just putting that out there, for future reference." She said. The most she could do is be there for her to cheer her up. "Any idea what movie we could watch? We could put on a comedy. It'll make you laugh..."

"Whatever..." Mimi mumbled. As long as there was no romance in it.

After the movie started playing, there was a knock on the door.

"You're back early too?" Rubi asked after seeing that it was Sutera.

"You mean Mimi's already here? I guess we both had bad dates. We just didn't click at all." Sutera said, walking to Rubi's room where Mimi was sulking. "Sheesh, what happened to you? It couldn't have turned out that bad. Yorokobi doesn't really do much to bother anyone."

"It was horrible." Mimi said. "Someone please kill me now."

"What happened?" Sutera asked, curious.

"I don't wanna talk about it again..."

Sutera looked at Rubi, confused. Rubi explained what happened, Sutera putting on a look of amusement. "So, my idea worked. I didn't think that he would actually be near the training grounds today, but I figured it would be best to give it a shot."

Mimi shot up. "What do you mean your idea worked? You're saying that you intentionally set me up?!"

"Yeah. I was just trying to help-"

"Trying to help? Sutera, he hates me now!" Mimi exclaimed. "I don't like playing those types of mind games. Now he thinks I was on that date because I wanted to be, _which I didn't_!"

"Look, I didn't know he was going to make such a scene, okay? At least now you know how he feels about you dating other people, so that's a step in the right direction." She said hopefully.

"What does that matter if he won't talk to me again? Ugh, I should have known you were going to pull some crap like this." Mimi said, burying her head back under the pillow.

"He'll get over it!"

"No he wouldn't. He doesn't listen to anyone when he's upset." Mimi mumbled.

"He listens to you." Rubi stated, patting her arm encouragingly.

Mimi sighed. "No he doesn't. He didn't even let me explain. Urrrgh, why is it always me?" Mimi said glumly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night, Kankuro went to a bar with Rojikku, having bumped into him earlier. Normally, he would have refused an offer to go with him, but Kankuro never felt so conflicted. He didn't even know what he was feeling...he wasn't the type to be sappy, and that wasn't going to change now. All he knew was that he didn't like this feeling and all it was doing was making him frustrated that he was so...bothered by all this. He didn't feel like himself.

"Hey, slow down, you're going to get yourself wasted within an hour if you keep that up." Rojikku said to Kankuro after observing him taking a fourth shot.

"I don't care." Kankuro said, hoping for his mind to blur, to numb whatever he was feeling right now.

"You're not acting like yourself. Is something bothering you?"

"No." Kankuro lied, not wanting to talk about it, requesting another drink from the bartender.

Rojikku shrugged, deciding to leave him alone. He was at the bar for his own reasons and wasn't interested in babysitting.

Later, as Kankuro was drinking, he was approached by a random woman who had been sitting nearby, but he hadn't paid much mind to her.

"Aren't you the Kazekage's brother?" The woman asked him.

He eyed her up and down. She was okay looking. A couple of months ago, he probably would have found her attractive...she had wavy blonde hair, a nice rack, small waist...but now he didn't find her much to look at. She looked quite boring, actually, and very typical. He was tempted to ignore her as she eyed him flirtatiously.

"Yeah, whaddya want?" He said sluggishly.

The woman giggled. "You're not really one for small talk, are you?"

"Nope." Kankuro said, taking another swig of what he was drinking.

"You're so mysterious." She said playfully. "So if you're not up for talking, maybe you should buy me a drink."

Kankuro glared at her, tempted to tell her to buy her own damn drink. After a couple of years all these girls seemed the same, and this one was no different; this girl only wanting to speak to him because of his connection with the Kazekage. He found them stupid and shallow. But he reconsidered, deciding that she would at least be a good distraction for the night. He bought her a couple of drinks, eventually inviting her over to his place. If Mimi didn't care, then he shouldn't either.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto opened his eyes, seeing nothing but pitch black around him. Where was he? Sitting up, he saw a faint light in the distance. Was he dead? Standing up, he walked toward the light, noticing that it was a door that led to a long hallway. Cautiously walking toward the end of the hallway, he saw someone already there, in a small room. There was a table with some papers on it. It looked as if the person there was planning something.

"...Lord Orochimaru..."

"Well, it seems you have finally awakened."

"Where are we?"

"That's none of your concern right now. But I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"How much time has passed?"

"Not long since I found you in the cave."

"But...my wounds...the poison..." Kabuto said, slowly putting his hand to his neck. It felt like forever since he was able to move normally by himself again. To his surprise, he was healed, though he felt scar tissue. Of course Lord Orochimaru had his ways. But this was still quite impressive for someone who has been weakened tremendously. "Why did you save me?"

"I went to the Land of Snow to see if there was anything of my interest. I ended up investigating what business you've got yourself into up there after discovering something that could be of my advantage. I must say, your idea is very interesting, and something that we can work together on."

So Lord Orochimaru has been watching him for almost the whole time. But there had to be some other reason.

"It doesn't seem like you to want to be so willing to help others, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said, smirking, knowing that there had to be a catch to this.

"Let's just say that the hospital you want to build will be a perfect way to access the group of people whose genes I'm interested in. Your hospital can be a cover up for experimentations that I can perform on the clan with the kekkei genkai. They have potential of playing a huge role in cell preservation, which in turn can be beneficial to gaining an even huger understanding of immortality. After visiting the clan in the North Pole, I discovered that the majority of them tend to have longer lifespans than the average human. I would like to look into that more. But they wouldn't be willing to let me obtain that information so easily."

"I see..." Kabuto said, registering the discovery that was just told to him.

"I give you credit for gaining the trust of the Queen in that village. She seems to favor you. The more trust you have with her, the easier it'll be to get access to these people. This is why I came for you. I admit it was entertaining seeing you try and function on your own."

"Are you really that confident that I'll be willing to return to you so quickly?" Kabuto asked. He didn't really expect anything else from Lord Orochimaru, but he was the only person alive who has come the closest to understanding him, or so he thought.

"It seems you've gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble without me. That puppet master did a number on you. To think that of all ways to go, you'd let yourself get defeated by someone that weak. You've lost your edge wasting your time trying to be someone you're not. And you should do me this favor in return of me saving your life."

Kabuto stood in contemplation for a second. Was this what he wanted? After all this time, after even discovering where he truly came from, he still didn't really know who he was. What were _his_ desires? It was getting tiring, living his life to satisfy the dreams and ambitions of someone else. But even after leaving Lord Orochimaru's side, he ended up in the same predicament, working for someone else to help achieve their goals...but they did promise to give him something in return. Then he remembered Dami's side of the deal. He owed him a valuable puppet. With that, he would be able to build the hospital he wanted. But now he had to compromise with Lord Orochimaru, too, and make this hospital into something in his favor since he saved his life. What on earth was he actually achieving doing all of this? Should he even care anymore? Trying to lead his own path has just left him with more confusion.

"...Okay, but I have to look for someone. He owes me something that'll help make this into a reality."

Orochimaru smiled. His minion was back.


	15. Sandstorm

**A/N: Here it is, enjoy. Sorry I took so long and for keeping you waiting, I've been a bit busy. ^^;**

Kankuro woke up that morning, the night before vague and fuzzy. He knew it involved some woman, being that he woke up right next to her. He was glad to see her leave, not really remembering the conversation that even led up to this situation. He lied and told her that he'll see her soon. But that's what he always said. He had no intention of trying to speak to her again. He didn't even remember her name, or if he even bothered to ask. But doing this whole thing to try and forget wasn't working, and now he was just stuck with an annoying headache.

If it wasn't bad enough, he was stopped by two of the elders as he was approaching the building. He really didn't feel like talking at the moment, but it had to have been something important since they were approaching him so early. Now he had to act like he wasn't hung over, ignoring the fact that their voices sounded annoyingly loud as he was trying to listen to what they were attempting to discuss with him. For a normal person, it would have been painful even trying, but he was a shinobi and he's dealt with worse pain than the headache from a simple hangover.

Apparently they were requesting him to lead an important mission to capture a missing nin from Ishigakure. But why didn't they just let Gaara tell him about this mission? They must be using this as a ploy to get him to do something else for them. Gaara had already complained to him many times about the underhanded aspects of his meetings with the Suna Council. If they would do it to Gaara, then they wouldn't hesitate to try with him. It's not like he was even bothered at the request. He needed an A-rank mission to get his mind off things, and he wouldn't have to think about that mission to the Land of Snow; he might not even have to go. The timing was just right, and he agreed without hesitation. But then...

"...You want me to get married?" Kankuro asked, confused after finally figuring out the true reason why they came looking for him. He could have thought up a million reasons why the members of the Suna Council would come looking for him, and this reason wasn't one of them.

He had to eye them for a second to see if they were really serious. But as they looked at him as if this request was the most important thing to ever happen to the village, he noticed that they were.

"Either you or your brother need to produce heirs, and you come off as the better option. We'll even do you the favor to find you a wife-" Tojuro, one of the seniors, started to say.

"Sorry, not interested." Kankuro said bluntly. "Gaara's the Kazekage. He should be the one to do all that arranged marriage stuff."

"Would you at least consider it?" Sajo asked.

"No. I didn't sign up for any of that."

"We can try and negotiate the Snow Country woman for you." Tojuro suggested.

Kankuro glared at them. The last thing he wanted was to think about her right now, and they had the nerve to bring her up as some type of viable option to convince him to get married? Who the hell did they think he was?

"And? You really think that's gonna change my mind?" Kankuro said angrily.

"Well, based on the way you reacted to her being taken away, you do seem to have a huge concern for her well-being. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't think about marriage...you're not getting any younger. She seems to have peaked your interest." Tojuro insisted cunningly.

"I already said I don't want to do it." Kankuro said stubbornly.

"Still a fear of commitment to anything, I see." He replied without any effort to hide condescension.

"I don't have a fear of commitment." Kankuro said sharply. "I'm just not interested in a marriage. Where did this idea even come from?"

"Let me correct myself. Is it just a fear of rejection?" Tojuro taunted. "I assure you we can make sure that won't happen...but, if you don't mind me asking, what is it that's really going on between the both of you?"

"I think you should mind your business." Kankuro snapped at them. "I don't care what you say. I already said I'm not interested. Don't come to me with this crap again."

Tojuro smirked as Kankuro walked away irritably. He knew bringing up that woman would hit a nerve. This was the exact reaction that he wanted. Kankuro would be easy to manipulate. His plan was working out in his favor so far. Now the Kazekage wouldn't have a choice in the matter of getting married since Kankuro was out of the question. The next step was to get the Kazekage to agree to it, and hopefully get him in an area that could leave him vulnerable and lead to his assassination. He had something else in store for Kankuro. Offering him a position to lead the Counter-Terrorism division on this mission will tempt him to take the position as Kazekage. This will give him the opportunity to frame him as a traitor; it would get rid of him easily. All he needed to do was convince one of Kankuro's subordinates to work under his wing, and make them the Kazekage after getting rid of Kankuro. Then he would finally have his way and have the village under his rule. The mission that Kankuro's about to get sent on would give his subordinates enough time to convince him, and leave the Kazekage vulnerable.

"I don't think telling him all those things were the best way of convincing him, Tojuro." Sajo said.

"He wouldn't have agreed to it regardless of what we said. The least I could have done is have him think it over." Tojuro assured. "But come, we have other things to take care of."

Kankuro couldn't believe they would even think of bringing something like this up. He found this whole thing suspicious. Why would they just come out of nowhere with this idea of marriage? There had to be hidden motives to the whole thing, and he needed to find out what it was. He had an idea that came to mind, but he wasn't sure if it was foolproof. There was a chance of it going wrong, and he can get into a heap of trouble. But he'll take the risk.

* * *

Gaara sat in a room, the seniors facing him with serious, stern looks on their faces. Of all reasons to be seated with the seniors of Suna, he never thought he would be having a discussion regarding the current situation that seemed to be bothering them at the moment. Gaara wishing he was somewhere doing something else was an understatement. The silence in the room was heavy and awkward, much like when Baki had been in his office to approach him about this nonissue, because that's exactly what it was. But to them, apparently, this was something that warranted an important meeting. Gaara had been hoping to end the meeting quickly after informing them of planning a meeting with the other kages to prepare them for the details of what had been happening recently, but unfortunately, this wasn't the case. He should have known the nature of this meeting was due to something else.

"I've talked to the rest of the seniors about the discussion we had," Baki finally said, the rest of them listening intently.

"I still don't see the huge concern." Gaara said. Really, this whole thing is starting to appear extremely petty. They had other things to worry about besides this frivolous piece of news.

"...We have...come up with a solution to end this before a point of no return. This could risk the dignity of our village if we let it continue." Goza said.

"And what is this solution?" Gaara asked plainly, not truly interested in what they're going to do to solve this. Gaara had to disagree with Goza. He doubted this would risk the dignity of their village at all as long as he keeps his behavior decent in the public eye, which hasn't been an issue since the Chunnin Exams.

"First, we need to make efforts to dispel these rumors of the apparent relationship between you and your student." Ikanago said. "We aren't sure how valid these rumors are, but we advise you don't do anything else to add fuel to the fire. We plan on finding a wife for you before anything between the both of you gets any more serious."

"_What__?_" Gaara said. "Absolutely not. I want no part in this-"

"Lord Kazekage, just listen. We are supportive of your romantic interests. The problem is that these interests are possibly directed toward your student. This is not the best way to further your lineage." Ikanago continued. "Temari's lineage will be linked to Konoha, so using her children as possible future leaders for our village is out of the question."

"And why haven't you spoken to Kankuro about this, then? He's older than me. Shouldn't you be trying to convince him to get married instead?" Gaara argued.

"We've already approached him about it." Tojuro said. "He...didn't seem too happy about the proposition and suggested we come to you about it since you are the Kazekage."

"Did you put any effort in convincing him at all? You know how he is," Gaara insisted.

"We honestly tried. We even suggested that woman from the Land of Snow that had gotten kidnapped recently but mention of her got him very rude and belligerent. It doesn't seem like he's willing to change his philandering habits. We are still unsure of the relationship those two have and he wasn't open on sharing any details either." Sajo added. "He was never the type to be willing to be tied down to something, but we prefer it this way for the time being."

"Why is that?" Gaara asked, curious.

"On the assumption that Kankuro marries that woman since she appears to be the more obvious option at the moment, it would be a similar, but not synonymous situation to Temari's. The advantage in this case would be that their children will be tied to Suna, and not from the village that the woman is from." Ikanago said. "But the marriage itself would still be a problem...our ties with this Snow Country are still fresh. A marriage with someone from there would have to be tread on more lightly than our relationship with Konoha's, no matter who the person is; a common villager, in this case. It would be too soon."

Gaara forced himself not to smirk at the presumptions of Kankuro getting married and having children. These elders were looking way too deep into this. Due to the trap he was put in and Kankuro's strong opposition, he figured that the council expected this reaction from Kankuro, and most likely simply asked him about it to cross him off as the other possible option so Gaara won't bother to try and pass the buck.

Gaara sighed. As amusing as it was, he thought that there would still be a possibility, especially if the other option of someone to get married was him. There were still things he was naïve about when it came to Matsuri...however, he figured one of the many motives behind this whole thing was to separate them, and maybe find a wife who would benefit the village in a political aspect. It didn't help that Matsuri was his student, since it would fuel the rumors that had first popped up when she chose him as a sensei. But he should have expected this result, and shouldn't have hoped too much for Kankuro to want to even get involved. It was obvious Himitsu had some affect on Kankuro, but the both of them seemed to be in some type of weirdly ambiguous on-again off-again relationship that Gaara's not willing to put the effort to wrap his head around. He barely understands how the relationship between Temari and Shikamaru even happened. He even had trouble coming to terms with his own feelings for Matsuri, only able to understand fully when she told him she loved him. Would he really have to do this? It wasn't like they were giving him much of a choice. He lowered his gaze in melancholy. He didn't want to hurt her, and he didn't want it to end up like this...especially after their relationship was blossoming more, and he was learning more about love every day because of her. But not even Baki was supporting it. He had to speak to Matsuri, soon, as much as he didn't want to if this was going to be their next conversation.

"...Okay." Gaara finally said. "I'll do it."

"Very well. We will inform you when we find a potential wife."

Gaara felt the relief of tension in the room as he agreed to the seniors' suggestion. But even though they seemed satisfied with these proposals, Gaara felt uneasy, as if a huge sandstorm was about to approach.

* * *

Mimi looked over her paperwork, happy to see some small improvements for Suna. These issues wouldn't be solved overnight (if only it were that easy!), but she had definitely been taking steps in the right direction. She will predict to see a marked increase in financial stability over the next couple of years if they improve their relations with the Land of Snow. The Land of Snow could benefit from Suna, and vice versa. It was obvious the land she was from could benefit from the power of the shinobi in this place. Their abilities were nothing like she's ever seen before, and they needed people up north. Because of the low populous, they have to prioritize where to use their shinobi, so it leaves many areas vulnerable. The only other thing that's keeping them safe is the climate, but from the looks of it, it's starting not to matter much to Southerners anymore, which meant the Land of Snow's risk of getting infiltrated was steadily increasing. And the Land of Snow, though seemingly cold and desolate, had resources...the advanced technology gave it a huge advantage, and they also had an abundance of fresh water, and that was just scraping the surface. There are rare, valuable gems within the depths of the icy waters. They are hard to obtain, but the few that have been obtained are sold to many countries to people of affluent backgrounds, and this is one of the many things that give the Land of Snow an economic advantage. If things don't go awry, there's huge potential for Suna to prosper if they were to become allies. But the political aspect of it was outside of Mimi's hands. She had to...build the bridge, to be frank, for trade to occur, and manage it from there. It was up to the leaders to maintain it, though she could present the pros and the cons for each situation.

She sighed. If only relations with people were this simple to understand...then _he_ popped in her head. Looking out a nearby window at the village that was the polar opposite of where she originated, she cursed herself for not being able to let it go. But this did happen very recently...it would be completely normal for the wound to be fresh, but at the moment, it felt like this whole thing would just never go away. For now, she would just let her mind wander for a moment, hopefully the thoughts of him just fleeting pictures in her consciousness that came and went. Things in life can change as fast as the seasons, for the summer was coming to an end. The funny thing about the seasons is that they can seem like they last a lifetime, but when it's time for it to end, it leaves as if it were there for just a moment. Not that the seasons would make much of a difference in the desert anyway, though the drastic changes from blistering heat to freezing cold each day and night was enough to deal with.

"It's not like you to zone out," Mimi heard a familiar voice say.

Getting back into focusing on what she was doing in front of her, she saw Matsuri casually leaning against the desk she was at, to drop off more paperwork, of course. They would usually spend a couple of minutes in casual conversation before she would go off on her way. She was good company, always having a positive energy surrounding her. But it wasn't overwhelming to the point that it got annoying like most people who generally had an optimistic, happy attitude.

"I guess everyone has their off days," Mimi said, taking the paperwork from Matsuri's hand, already scanning her eyes over it.

"Missing someone?" Matsuri asked, her big, dark eyes looking at her inquisitively.

Mimi stood staring at the paper she was looking over, trying to force herself not to get red. As nice as Matsuri was, she wasn't beyond playful teasing about people's object of interest.

"Hoping to avoid someone..." Mimi corrected, saying it lowly.

"Ah, I see." Matsuri said, understanding. "Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I get to see the mission plans in the near future. He's going on a mission real soon. So you won't see him around here for some time."

"Oh." Mimi said. Well, that made avoiding him easier, but that didn't mean that's what she truly wanted. Matsuri seemed to pick up on that, because she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Some things just need time." She said encouragingly. "I've got work to do. We'll talk more later?"

"I guess." Mimi said, ready to occupy herself with the company of numbers once again.

* * *

"Kabuto! You're still alive," Dami said as if seeing an old friend, surprised to see him approach him in another one of their hideouts. "What brings you here?"

"We had a deal." Kabuto said simply, casually walking toward him as if he were there to ask for a small favor. He could hear the ingenuity in Dami's voice. Dami most likely had expected him to have been dead, which meant that he wouldn't have had to own up to his side of the deal, which in this case would have benefitted him since their plan wasn't successful. Dami didn't expect him to have survived the incident in the mountains after the cave collapsed. But Kabuto was never one to display his full abilities unless entirely necessary. People tended to let their guard down when they think you're weak, and him losing to Kankuro might have confirmed Dami's thoughts. Even if his defeat was a huge blow to his ego, the Shirogane clan underestimating him might come to an advantage. Yes, he may have lost to Kankuro, but the clan wasn't there during the fight. They still aren't aware of what he's capable of.

"Ah, yes..." Dami said, looking around the hideout as if contemplating what to tell him. But to Kabuto, it looked like he was double checking for backup. He already knew what that meant. In Dami's mind, his side of the deal wasn't met. "I'm afraid that your plan...didn't meet my expectations." Dami said.

Kabuto was expecting that. There was always a catch with these types of things, and unfortunately, someone had to be the scapegoat for their failure. But they didn't know who he was and who they decided to associate with. He wasn't going to let them have their way so easily.

"I never guaranteed success on your part. My part of the plan was successful. Our deal was to have me get Kankuro alone and weaken him, and I did that for you. Anything beyond that point had nothing to do with me." Kabuto told him.

"I'm afraid if you want your puppet, you're gonna have to think of a plan B." Dami said sternly. "You know how many puppets we lost because of this?! You have no idea! We'll never get the spirit orb in the Land of Snow at this rate!"

"That's too bad," Kabuto said unapologetically. "But I'm afraid that wasn't our agreement."

"Our agreement was that we would work together on this!" Dami said, raising his voice.

"And I did that," Kabuto replied. He was aware of how this was all going to turn out.

"If you think I'm going to give you one of our most valuable puppets now after all the ones we've lost, you're crazy." Dami said angrily. "That fruitcake and his teammate completely destroyed our other hideout with everything in it!"

"And if you think I'm just going to casually walk away after _risking my life_ without getting the thing we agreed upon, _you're_ crazy!" Kabuto snapped back. "You have no idea the amount of mental torment I went through to get him alone and weaken him! It was no walk in the park, I'll tell you that." He said, pointing to the numerous amount of scars he now had on his face and everywhere else on his body, his neck having a very obvious amount of healed scar tissue. "It's a miracle I even survived."

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have riled him up so much by stealing his girlfriend. That was your part of the plan, and your idea." Dami said smugly.

"I wouldn't be acting so complacent. You're not exactly on his list of favorite people either," Kabuto retorted. "And trust me, if I couldn't defeat him, then he'll destroy you. So you better hope you never cross his path."

"His village will require him to spare me."

Kabuto laughed. "If it's mission related. If he seeks you, it's much, much different. He's quite merciless when he wants to be. But I digress. It's either you hand me the puppet, or I'm going to have to take it myself."

Kabuto suddenly found himself surrounded by puppets, the members of the clan hidden. Kabuto smiled.

"It seems you want to do this the hard way," Kabuto said. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? I won't be easy, and you _will_ lose many of your clan members."

"All of us against you?" Dami said cockily. "We'll take our chances."

"Hn," Kabuto scoffed, amused, getting into a fighting stance. This would turn out to be interesting.

"Now, now, no need to fight just yet," Another voice said slyly.

Dami jumped back defensively. "How'd he get in here?" He said, taken aback at the snakelike man that manifested in front of him.

The man stood in front of Dami, a mischevious grin plastered on his face.

"We have business to be done in the Land of Snow as well. Kabuto has...informed me of your current unfortunate situation. Fortunately, I have an offer that could help you tremendously." Orochimaru said cunningly, his grin wide and unsettling. "If you help us, I can get you the spirit orb, but all of you have to put your weapons down, and give me a chance to speak. Your weapons are quite useless against us anyway."

Kabuto smirked at his master. Lord Orochimaru had a trick in mind, and he was quite eager to see it all play out in the end. Of course, Kabuto would have to be in the dark for quite some time until he found out his true motives behind offering them to help him. But one thing he did know: he was definitely going to be able to achieve what he wanted if Lord Orochimaru went through with his plan. Nothing could run away from his ambition.

"Why should we trust your word?" Dami said, eyeing Orochimaru skeptically. His appearance alone proved him untrustworthy, with his unnatural, slanted serpent-like eyes looking at Dami as if he were something to toy with.

"How about you take us somewhere where we can all sit down and talk about this peacefully." Orochimaru said almost sarcastically. "I'm sure you won't be able to turn down my offer. You see, I would like to collaborate with ambitious people like you. I know you'll go at great lengths to get what you need, and I'll be able to help you achieve that. The choice is yours." Orochimaru said smiling as he saw the determined look on Dami's face.

* * *

Gaara had a lot running through his mind. Between scheduling a meeting with the other kages, doing what he can to make the village economically successful, and agreeing to an arranged marriage that he hasn't even talked to Matsuri about yet, not including all his other duties like the remaining buildings that still needed repairs, things were just getting increasingly overwhelming. So when someone came barging through the door to add more to his already heavy workload, he wasn't feeling very joyful about it.

"Gaara, what is this whole thing going on about me getting married?" Kankuro said, annoyed at the prospects that occurred this morning.

"...I'm just as taken aback as you are." Gaara said calmly, though internally he was getting increasingly upset.

"So they've already talked to you about it," Kankuro said. "Don't you think this is a little suspicious? They came out of the blue with this marriage thing and I don't have a good feeling about it."

"They're using Matsuri as an excuse, and Temari as an example since she will be deciding her wedding day soon to appease both Suna and Konoha." Gaara said, but he knew Kankuro was right. "I don't have a good feeling about it either. I'm going to be looking into it. I think you should just focus on the mission you have for now."

Gaara couldn't possibly believe that he would actually listen to that piece of advice. Kankuro already had a plan, and just because they were sending him away on this mission didn't mean that he wasn't going to do anything to try and figure this out. It's been a while since he's been able to put use to one of the puppets he had. But even though he had this plan, he wasn't entirely sure when he'll be back. He had no doubts that the seniors were sending him on this A-rank mission for this reason; they didn't want him being a huge obstacle for whatever plans they had. He had to find a way to achieve this mission as efficiently as possible. He can't leave Gaara here alone for long when the council was acting this mistrustful. And with all this going on, he couldn't help but think about if he would be able to go to the Land of Snow...

Gaara frowned in disappointment as he saw Kankuro contemplating something else to say. He thought he would be able to cut this short, and he wondered what else could he want to talk to him about now.

"I wanted to ask you about that, actually..." Kankuro said, looking around the office in an attempt to be casual.

Gaara looked at him flatly, waiting for him to continue.

"Well...because I'm going on this A-rank mission, is...Mimi going to be assigned to leave with someone else?"

Not this again.

"Maybe, if she has to leave urgently." Gaara said plainly. "Is that a problem?"

"No...well, it depends on who it is."

Gaara shifted his gaze to something else in what would almost be described as apathy. He didn't have time for this. "Can we discuss this another time?"

Before Kankuro could answer, Matsuri walked into the office. This was only temporary relief, because even though this diverted the attention from the conversation Gaara was having with his brother, it just reminded him about what he needed to discuss with her.

"So...if she is going to leave with someone else, who is it gonna be?" Kankuro asked.

Kankuro seemed indifferent to Matsuri's presence. Now Gaara had to think if it was better to cut this conversation short to talk to Matsuri, or if it was best to buy time prolonging this ridiculous discussion with Kankuro so he can get his thoughts together on what to say to Matsuri. With all the other stuff he had to worry about, that mission wasn't something he's even thought about yet since it didn't take priority at the moment.

But he figured the latter sounded better. He'd kill two birds in one stone.

"Most likely, if she had to leave urgently, I would have put her with Kanj-"

"Oh, come on, why do you always try to assign him with her?" Kankuro interrupted, almost as if he was expecting that answer from Gaara.

"What is your problem with Kanjo? I thought we discussed this before you left to Konoha." Gaara said.

"I don't like him. He's an idiot, annoying and always tries to flirt with every girl he sees-"

"Is that what this is about?" Gaara said, miffed. If this were anyone else, he would have cut this off the moment they opened their mouth. "Kankuro, you can't constantly make me change assignments because it doesn't fit to your liking. I let it happen once, and _only_ once. He would be with her as a second option because he is familiar with the area and also already knows her, adding ease to the mission, and I would also hope that using him would give the opportunity to mend our reputation with the village there because of the robbery. You cannot go with her this time if she has to leave immediately. You _need_ to go on this A-rank mission. This person is a terrorist that could be a threat to anyone."

"I don't _want_ to go with her. I never said that." Kankuro spat. "Stop assuming things."

"Then what is the problem?" Gaara said, feeling frustrated. He wasn't getting it. If he had no desire to go with her, then why was he making such a huge fuss?

"I don't know...can't Baki go with her or something?"

Gaara furrowed his brows for a moment to process what he just heard. "Kankuro, you do know how nonsensical that sounds. Baki is part of the Suna Council and an asset to this village. He can't be sent off on missions like that. Now if it really concerns you that much, the only person I can think of who can do the mission at this time is Yukata, but I cannot guarantee anything. She may be needed for something else."

"_Yukata?_ Hell no! She's got shit for brains!"

"Hey, that's not true!" Matsuri interjected.

"No one was talking to you-"

"That's _enough_, Kankuro. You're being extremely unprofessional and unreasonable. I cannot allow you to insult any of the shinobi of our village, and I would have never expected these types of comments from you, especially since you will have your subordinates working with you in your upcoming mission. I have too many things on my plate to be worrying about small missions that are to be completed in the near future. It's not like you to mix your personal judgments with your duties as a shinobi, and I don't expect that to change."

"I'm not 'mixing my personal judgments.'" Kankuro denied. "I don't know where you got that from."

"Then _please_ inform me what on _earth_ is going on between the both of you, because if you want me to be truthful, this is giving me a migraine and I would like to avoid this from happening again."

"Nothing's going on between us."

"I don't understand...then why are you so concerned about the details of her assignments?"

"I-it's complicated, alright? It's not that easy to explain."

Gaara sighed, his gaze lowering, pondering why his older brother has suddenly been so difficult lately. "We're done here. I highly advise you get ready for your _own_ mission and stop preoccupying yourself with other ones that have yet to be fully planned yet."

Matsuri smirked at Gaara's apparent annoyance after Kankuro left.

"I apologize for Kankuro's rudeness. Ever since that woman's arrived here he's been acting more erratically than usual."

But to Gaara's surprise, Matsuri just chuckled.

"Oh, Gaara. There are some things that still go over your head." Matsuri said playfully.

Gaara didn't quite understand what she meant by that, but it probably had something to do with his ignorance with relationships, which reminded him of his own.

"Matsuri..." Gaara said, keeping a stoic expression. "We need to talk."

Matsuri's smile fell from her face, not liking what she just heard him say. She noticed the sad, hopeless gaze he had that bored into the windows of her soul, and she wished she could just leave so she won't have to hear what he's about to tell her.

* * *

Mimi finished her work for the day, walking out the building to meet up with Matsuri. Well, she still brought some work with her that she can work on when she went to Rubi's later. The work was never really done, and she needed a distraction.

But Matsuri wasn't in the area where they agreed to meet at. Mimi searched around for a bit, assuming that maybe she was somewhere nearby. Eventually, she heard someone crying near the back of a building in a narrow alleyway. Curious, she walked to where the crying was coming from, surprised to see Matsuri sitting on the ground with her head in her knees, bawling her eyes out.

_Oh dear..._ Mimi thought, walking to Matsuri slowly. What could have possibly happened for her to be like this? She was just fine earlier. Maybe it was because shinobi were trained to hide their emotions?

"Hey," Mimi said, kneeling down.

"H-hey..." Matsuri managed to say between sobs. "I'm sorry...I didn't want anyone to find me like this."

She had been crying pretty loudly, though. Someone was bound to find her, but she seemed too devastated to notice.

"Wanna talk about it?" Mimi asked, looking around. "In a place that's not here..."

* * *

Mimi served tea awkwardly, not really knowing how to ask Matsuri what could have happened since she hasn't stopped crying. It's bad enough she already felt uncomfortable being in her own home in the first place since the whole incident with that guy who broke in. She'd been staying at Rubi's since it happened, and she didn't feel completely ready to come back yet. But she couldn't bring Matsuri to Rubi's place unannounced like that, and Matsuri didn't want to see anyone else at the moment. She did feel a small sense of security since she would be with Matsuri and not alone, though.

Mimi sipped at her tea quietly as Matsuri cried, not wanting to push her too much. Sometimes you just had to let it out.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to make you go through this..." Matsuri finally said after wiping her eyes. "I...I just had no idea...it was so unexpected..."

"It's okay," Mimi said sympathetically. "What was unexpected?"

"G-gaara...doesn't want to be with me anymore!" Matsuri said, destroyed, blowing her nose in a bunch of tissues that Mimi gave her.

Oh, this is bad. Were the rumors true, then? If they were, this came off as a surprise, being that they seemed to be doing so well. What could have possibly went wrong?

"Why? What did he tell you?" Mimi asked.

"He said...that...he couldn't continue on with us like this, and that he's sorry. I-I thought things were going so well between us...he even told me he didn't care what everyone else thinks!" Matsuri said. "Now I'm thinking what I could have done wrong...maybe he just doesn't feel the same way I do anymore. Now I just feel like a stupid fangirl. Maybe I'm just too immature or...I don't know..." she said, sobbing into another tissue.

So the rumors about them having a relationship was true. Once again, Mimi felt like she was caught up in knowing something that this time, she probably _really_ shouldn't be knowing. This was personal information about the Kazekage! She didn't think there was any way she would ever get wrapped up in something like this...a normal, simple person like her. But she looked at the crying girl in front of her, and felt that the nature of the stories and who it involved don't really matter. She was here, and for now, she had to say some encouraging words.

"I don't think you should jump to conclusions yet," Mimi said. "It doesn't sound like he was being really clear on why he ended it."

"Why else would he end it?! Look at me...he's too good for me." Matsuri said sadly. "I should've known something like this was going to happen. There's no way I could be with Gaara...he's the Kazekage, and I'm just...me."

"Hey, you shouldn't say things like that. It might be too soon now, but maybe you'll get a better answer from him after some time. He apologized; maybe he'll give you a better reason later. I admit that it is a little odd."

"It's just so painful. Why does love have to be so hard? Have you ever loved someone so much you just wish that you could be by their side no matter what? For them to tell you they can't anymore...it's like they ripped your heart out and you'll never be the same again. This is the second time this happened with us. I got my hopes up for it to get shot down again. I don't think I can do this anymore. I know I shouldn't wait for him to come around again...but I know that I'll always want to be with him, no matter what. I'm sure you've felt that way about someone before, didn't you? What did you do?"

Mimi didn't really have an answer for that. To be by their side no matter what...is that what it was like?

"Well...I thought I was in love...but it was just a need to be needed, or just flat out loneliness. I ended up bending over backward for people who didn't really appreciate it. It was stupid of me. You could never satisfy a narcissist." Mimi said, thinking of what to say as she evaluated her experiences with her ex boyfriends. She wasn't completely sure what to tell her. What did Mimi do when she was hurt...that didn't include her standing on the ledge of a bank to plummet to a miserable fate? Slowly looking around, she saw the work she had brought sitting in front of her, reminding her of what she planned to do to keep her mind occupied later. It gave her an idea what to say. "You're going to be hurt for a while, and there's no knowing how long you're going to feel that way. But for the moment, the best you can do is distract yourself and surround yourself with people who'll cheer you up."

Matsuri nodded, taking a gulp of the tea that she hadn't yet touched. "It's easier said than done."

"Some things just need time." Mimi said, repeating the words she had said to Mimi earlier that day back to her. But Mimi realized that maybe she should be trying to do more to cheer her up, now that Matsuri was here. But honestly, Mimi didn't really know Matsuri that well. But she had to think of something...after all, Matsuri did do Mimi a huge favor once, and if it wasn't for her, she probably wouldn't be doing the work she's doing now. Her mind was drawing a blank, so she resorted to doing the unoriginal thing, getting the idea from when her and Rubi would have their down days.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Mimi asked awkwardly.

"...Yeah, sure. I haven't watched a good one in a while. I usually spend my spare time training, but I really don't feel like it today. Yukata and Mikoshi would come looking for me around this time, but I can't let them see me like this."

"You're welcome to hide here," Mimi said. She could use the company anyway. She hasn't spent a night in her own apartment yet, and she wasn't ready to do it alone. She still had thoughts about that night when someone broke in, but she usually just shook the thoughts out of her head because she didn't want to think about it.

* * *

As time passed, Mimi spent her time staying longer at the building to keep her mind on her work and not wandering to other things that she felt she shouldn't be thinking about. She would stay later than she should, but she didn't mind working late. Matsuri would come and stop by occasionally, but she informed her today that she would be leaving on a very long mission; she would be leaving that night. Staying late wasn't really an option for distraction for Matsuri. Mimi doubted Matsuri would even be around this building much longer. She wouldn't be surprised if Matsuri found an occupation in another division. Mimi thought Matsuri was strong for even having the guts to face the Kazekage after everything. Mimi wouldn't have had the courage to even be in his presence.

"I'm gonna miss your five minute visits," Mimi told her as Matsuri was telling her the plans that she had. "They're a breath of fresh air after working with numbers all the time. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but sometimes it can be quite an eyesore after a while. I guess you can't have too much of a good medicine."

Matsuri snickered. "It's for the best." She said, referring to her working somewhere else. "You might have to look for somewhere else to go too."

"Why?" Mimi asked.

"He came back from his mission a couple of days ago. You might bump into him walking out of here."

"R-really?" Mimi asked. She felt her mouth get dry. She got so immersed in her work that she didn't even keep track of how long he'd been gone. But Matsuri was just poking fun at her again. There was a very low chance of her bumping into him unless he came looking for her. It's not like Matsuri's case, where she was around the Kazekage most of the time. "Great, now I have a mission of my own, and I'm not even a shinobi." Mimi said, leaning her head on her hand hopelessly.

"You can't avoid him forever." Matsuri said, amused at the statement she made. "I don't think he hates you as much as you think he does. He seemed pretty interested in who was going to accompany you to the Land of Snow after he got requested to go on that mission if he didn't return soon enough. But you didn't hear that from me."

"He was? When did you hear that?" Mimi asked.

But Matsuri just laughed. "I'll see you around." She said before walking off.

* * *

During one of Mimi's normal days working, someone had told her that Rubi had requested Mimi to speak to her outside for a couple of minutes. Apparently, it was something important, but Mimi guessed that it was just to get Mimi to stop immersing herself in so much boring paperwork and to meet up with her. Needless to say, it wasn't boring to Mimi...it was more therapeutic, actually, especially since it's been helping her keep her mind off of a certain someone who she's been successfully avoiding. But she knew that Rubi was right. She needed to give herself a break, though she was sure that the Kazekage would be happy with how much she's getting done. By the time she'd be assigned to go to her homeland, she'd be totally prepared. This wasn't like Konoha, where a relationship between the two villages had already been established for a long time now. She had to make new relations, and it would take some convincing.

But she should have known avoiding him wasn't going to last. She was bound to run into him somehow, and today, time wasn't on her side. There he was, standing right in front of her as she almost bumped into him for absentmindedly walking as she was lost in her own thoughts, looking for Rubi. She thought she'd be out here. She looked up at him, to see him looking as handsome as ever. The thought popped in her head of him maybe having already found someone else. She hoped that wasn't the case. She wouldn't know how to take that...

She didn't want to ignore him, as much as she tried to evade his presence this whole time. It felt like forever since she's seen him. She lowered her gaze to a random sign nearby as she felt his eyes on her. She felt like one of his puppets, without strings of chakra. He didn't need that to have a hold on her, and the way she felt her heart hammering in her chest already proved that. But she wasn't going to give up this chance to speak to him.

"You look nice..." she said quietly, still staring at the sign as if she actually cared about what was written.

There was an awkward silence, before he started to walk past her.

"Go tell that to your 'sand brother,'" he commented bitterly as he was walking away.

She felt her heart shatter. She didn't want him to hate her. "You never even let me explain," Mimi said to him, gently taking his arm. To her relief, he stopped in his tracks. "I didn't even want to go on that stupid date. Sutera made me go."

"You seemed to be enjoying it." He replied. "What moron sings about rain in the middle of the desert?"

Mimi would have laughed at that comment if she was in a better mood. "The only reason I liked it was because it was the first date I've gone on that the guy wasn't talking about himself 24/7. It was a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed it out of relief more than anything." Mimi said. But Kankuro stood quiet. She hoped that he knew she wouldn't lie to him. "Do you think I would do something to get you to hate me? I don't ever want to upset you...I'm not interested in anyone else. I'm sorry..."

To her relief, she saw him smirk after a long moment of silence.

"You shouldn't let your friends walk all over you, midget." Kankuro said. "You Snow Country people need to get a backbone."

Mimi smiled, relieved. "Kankuro...I know you've been busy but...I missed you..."

Kankuro looked down at Mimi, never thinking hearing those words from someone could mean so much to him. Frankly, he was pretty used to being overlooked, his relationships with people mostly nothing more than acquaintances, never expecting for someone who wasn't his family to tell him that. And up to this point, he was fine with things being that way. He wasn't one to put the effort to try and form deep and meaningful relationships with people like Naruto, who had gotten pretty famous in the ninja world over the years. Getting too close to too many people weakened you. But this was different...he always thought he would always have everything under control. He was never the type to back down or let people get to him. But when it came to her, it was different. He would do things he wouldn't normally do. He always told himself that he wasn't going to let anything weaken him. But when he told himself that he didn't think that the person to do it would be someone who wasn't an enemy, let alone someone who wasn't even a shinobi. Despite the hurt and anger he'd been trying to block away from the incident that happened between them, he did feel the same way.

"I missed you too, midget." He admitted. But he's been busy, now needing to get ready to leave with Gaara sometime in the near future to a nearby oasis outside of Suna to meet a potential wife the council had found for him. And he'd been keeping tabs on one of the seniors of the council. There's been a lot of information he's acquired from using one of his puppets to spy on him. He's just waiting for the right moment for the truth to come out. Regardless, Kankuro was aware that there was a small chance his plan wouldn't work. Based on the information he's acquired, He suspects that one of the seniors were trying to frame him and Gaara, and even though he thinks right now that he has the upper hand, this could easily turn against him, and he could end up getting arrested because some of the other seniors had to be involved. That had him thinking of other things...if this were to turn out badly, where would they stand? He could be imprisoned. What would she do then? It's not like he was expecting this of her, but apart of him wanted to know.

"Mimi..." Kankuro asked. "Hypothetically...If I were to turn myself in for something I did...would you wait for me?"

Mimi blinked, confused. That was random, and concerning. Did he commit a serious crime? "Kankuro, why would you ask me a question like that?"

"Just answer it." He said, looking off into the distance as if his mind were on something else.

Mimi thought about it for a moment, a memory popping up in her head. _"...you just wish you could be by their side no matter what?" "...but I know that I'll always want to be with him, no matter what..." _

Matsuri...Mimi didn't quite get it at first, but she understood now. She had faith in him, and hoped that for whatever reason he was asking this, it was for the greater good.

"I'd wait a million years." Mimi said to him genuinely.

"You really mean that." Kankuro said more as a statement than a question. He wasn't expecting an answer that sounded so final. He knew he wasn't easy to be around at times, and she's willing to put up with him, even at the possibility of being imprisoned.

Mimi nodded. "Yes...I do mean it."

Kankuro was never the one to want to be tied down to something, but this girl...she did something to him that kept him coming back to her. And surprisingly, he was okay with that. But he doubted he would ever be able to make her happy the way he wished he could. He was hoping she said something else, so he could tell her to forget him, but it was too late for that. He wanted to be by her side the same way she wanted to stay by his.

"Mimi...I..."

Mimi looked at him with a puzzled look as he seemed to be struggling to say something. It had to be related to why he asked her that question. "What is it, Kankuro? You can tell me anything-"

Mimi was caught off guard when Kankuro kissed her. It had passion, longing, affection...like it was going to be the last one they ever shared. She gave into him immediately, not realizing how much she'd desired to be this close with him again. She didn't want to stop, and pouted when he backed away.

"...You really have terrible taste in men," Kankuro said, smirking before he left.

Before Mimi could reply, he was already gone. She would have agreed with him a few months back, but he was wrong. He was the best guy that she's ever met...or maybe she's just thinking that because she'd already fallen for him, always leaving her wanting more. If only she could spend more time with him so she could get the courage to tell him how she feels...

"There you are, Mimi!"

"Huh?" Mimi said dumbfoundedly, still caught up in her mini daydream. She completely forgot the reason she had come out in the first place. "Oh, hey Rubi," Mimi said, coming to her senses. "Why'd you call me out here?"

"Because, I have awesome news! I couldn't wait for you to get out because I know you're gonna stay late again, but I'm just so excited!"

"What? What is it?" Mimi asked, interested.

"Look, I'm engaged!" Rubi said happily, showing her the ring on her finger.

"Aw, that's so cute, I'm so happy that you and Ryu are engaged-"

"Ryu? Who said it was him who proposed to me?" Rubi said, a sly smile on her face.

"Oh, Rubi, I hope you're not serious..." Mimi said worriedly.

"I'm just kidding, of course it was him!" She said. "I'm so happy...he said he was gonna take me somewhere nice later...I can't wait...I might not be home by the time you leave-don't worry, I came to give you a spare key if I'm not home. You don't have to stay in your place by yourself." Rubi assured, seeing the look on Mimi's face.

"Wow, first Temari, now you...everyone's getting married."

"I know, isn't it awesome? You'll be next!"

"No way, Rubi." Mimi said, amused. "I'm nowhere near ready for that."

"Oh, really? You can't fool me." Rubi said, inching closer. "You seemed to have settled your differences with the Grim Reaper."

"What are you talking about?"

"You have paint on your face." Rubi whispered.

_Dammit, Kankuro... _Mimi thought, quickly trying to wipe away the evidence of their encounter. "That doesn't mean anything."

"So if he proposed to you right now, you're saying you would refuse?" Rubi asked.

"Rubi, just because we talked everything out doesn't mean I want to marry the guy!" Mimi said, a bit taken aback at her question.

"Oh, come on, it would be awesome if we could be brides together! What's the big deal? Me and Ryu did it."

"You and Ryu knew each other basically your whole lives! I wouldn't call you guys getting engaged a huge leap of faith." Mimi said sarcastically. "The thought of me getting married right now is completely outside my zone of interest at the moment. It just sounds ludicrous. You have better luck convincing Sutera."

"Alright, alright, fine, no need to get all defensive. I was just innocently suggesting," Rubi said.

"Right," Mimi said flatly. "Well, I'm gonna get back to work. Have fun, and congrats!"

"You don't need to tell me twice. I'll tell you all the details later!" Rubi said before running off.

* * *

Tojuro stood in a balcony at one of the numerous buildings located in Suna, looking over the village that he vowed would be his. Some parts of the village looked beautiful, the buildings standing up tall and proud, unaffected by the unique climate changes that added strength and power to its history and experience. The other parts, partially destroyed, some in the process of being built once again, attempting to hide the turmoil that had attempted to overtake what Suna stood for. It made him angry that something like this happened. After the attack of the Queen, Tojuro knew that the Kazekage's reign must be changed to someone more suitable for the job who would have never let this happen in the first place. That monster was in no position to be the Kazekage.

Of course, if he were younger, he would have been perfect for the job. But alas, his body has aged, his bones now weak, his joints ached from being the agile taijutsu user he had once been. He envied those younger shinobi around him, not appreciating the strength and ability they have, more than half of them not using it to their advantage to reach their full potential. But at least some of them were useful, willing to listen to his wisdom. The most of them were pigheaded, unwise. Letting the younger generation run this village was a huge mistake, and he was going to fix it. He had to banish the Kazekage and all people of his bloodline if Suna were to become a grand village, even greater than the renowned Konoha. With Ebizo aging, he was soon to become the head of the Suna Council, and with Maizuru soon to work under his advisement as the Kazekage, he would finally be able to achieve what he desired, for he knew what was best for his village, and the younger generation already had their chance, running amuck thinking that they're doing good when all they have done is lead this village to ruin. They have lost the ways of the old, and this new era of advancement that was coming will just lead into more problems and more trouble for everyone.

He turned to Maizuru, who stood quiet in his presence until he was acknowledged.

"How has everything gone so far?" Tojuro asked confidently.

"Men have already been sent to assassinate the Kazekage." Maizuru said. "He's already at the oasis."

"And what of Kankuro?"

"I convinced him to leave the event. He's returned from the mission sooner than anticipated despite my efforts, but I've already had a talk with the rest of my comrades. They should be trying to speak to him now. I'm going to catch up with them later." Maizuru answered.

"Perfect," Tojuro said, satisfied.

With Maizuru working with him, he'd have Kankuro in the palm of his hand, now that the Kazekage was already being taken care of.

* * *

Some time passed before Kankuro stood before his subordinates, making sure everything was set in place for his plan to work. He had gotten called away while he was at the oasis with Gaara who was to meet his potential wife. Baki had already suspected something was going on after Kankuro got called away, but they couldn't tell him what was going on because of the risk of his plan getting ruined to turn the seniors in who attempted to overthrow Gaara. Even though he was called away, he did miss having a normal conversation that wasn't mission related with his brother for once. But he had to do this and he was glad to be back in Suna. He just hoped everything was alright.

* * *

Later that night Mimi decided to stay later to finish some paperwork, aiming to have every detail of her plan documented so she would be ready by the time the Kazekage assigns her to leave. She could admit to herself that she was very content in what she was doing now, and was excited to continue when she gets to Rubi's place to keep working on more details so by the time she leaves, everything will fall in its place. Of course, something unexpected is bound to happen when it comes to forming new trades and predicting ways to make loans more manageable since the economy can act so unpredictably at times, but she's been lucky to have enough time to consider numerous possibilities and solutions to make this as manageable as possible. If only there were other people who she could share her interests about this with. She gave Rubi and Sutera credit for at least trying to show an interest, but Mimi didn't want to torture them like that. The other people who worked with finances that she knew in the building worked in other departments. Suna had never had many relations with the Land of Snow until now, so it was up to Mimi to provide a plan to get it started in the best way possible, and even though Mimi would be able to do that, it requires a lot of patience. The Land of Snow is made up of many islands that surround a huge landmass in the middle that make up most of the Arctic Circle and the North Pole. However, these islands are run by small monarchies that have different laws and ways of doing things...there are even some islands that have significant cultural differences and languages than the island she grew up in. Mimi would have to take this one step at a time, and try to research the different financial interests from each island and attempt to form a rapport with the ones that had resources that would benefit Suna the most.

As Mimi was walking, she heard some voices nearby. Being that it was late, she didn't think she'd be hearing much conversation at this time. It sounded like they were talking about the Kazekage...

"Maizuru's right. You're always working with us on the front line. We think you'd be better off as the Kazekage. We're tired of being treated as if we're disposable by the daimyo! What has the Kazekage done about this?" Mimi heard someone say as she was about to turn to walk in the other direction.

"You see? Everyone else agrees with me. It would be better for the village. We don't want someone who always works behind the scenes. You'd fare much better."

...What? Who were they talking about?

"But we don't want to get rid of him. We just think he'd be better working at your side instead of as a leader. Let's take over the village. Here's a blueprint of the places we'll get to first." Someone else said.

Mimi couldn't believe what she was hearing. There were people who were planning on taking over the village? That didn't sound good...and where was the Kazekage? They surely wouldn't be doing this if he was here. Who could possibly want to do something like that? Maybe the fact that he wasn't always at the front lines was true, but from what she's seen of the Kazekage, he wasn't afraid to be when the time called for it. He fought that evil queen, and she remembered Rubi telling her that he had saved the whole village from being blown up at one point. Mimi didn't even know the Kazekage that well and she could see the dedication he had for his village. So how could these people say such things?

She slowly tiptoed to the source of the conversation, making sure to stay out of sight. The group of people she was hearing sounded like they were talking to their superior of some sort. Whoever it was, it had to be someone really bad. But when she got close enough to see the people who were talking and the person they were talking to, she let out a small gasp. It couldn't be...

"Fine. But let me make a couple of changes to this." Kankuro said.

"Kankuro-sama, are you sure you want to do this? It doesn't seem like the right thing to do." Mimi heard someone say.

"Just trust me on this one." Kankuro said. "Everyone, go to your designated places. We need to do this promptly."

"Wait, there's someone here," one of the other guys said. "They could blow our cover!"

Mimi's eyes widened. They found out she was there. She had to leave fast, before they found her. How did they know she was here? She was being as quiet as possible...but these people were trained for this type of stuff. She quickly turned around to walk away, but there was already someone standing behind her. It was one of the young boys that were in the group. They had found where she was hiding.

"You don't look like you're from around here...it's some type of foreign spy!" The boy said, restraining her before she would be able to consider running away. But Mimi was in too much shock to try. She just couldn't believe the person responsible for all the stuff she just heard was...

"Bring them here," Kankuro ordered.

Kankuro wondered what would a foreign spy be doing around here, worried that word must have leaked to other villages about the possible political instability that might occur in Suna. But as he turned to see who one of his subordinates had found...no, it couldn't be! Not her, anyone but her...he almost would have preferred the possibility of it being a foreign spy; at least he would have been able to handle that. But with the way she was looking at him...she heard more than she should have. He didn't care what anyone else thought, but he felt his heart drop as she looked at him with surprise, confusion...and as much as this was unavoidable, he didn't want her to find out like this, or find out at all if he had the choice.

"Go to your designated places. I'll handle this." Kankuro said.

The both of them were left in an uncanny silence after the young shinobi left. It's not like Kankuro had much to say. Everything she heard was self-explanatory.

"Is this why you asked me if I'll wait for you?" Mimi forced herself to say, trying to suppress a quiver in her voice.

He couldn't look her in the face when she was eyeing him like that. He looked at the ground, thinking about what to say, laughing nervously.

"...Why are you always ruining my plans, eh? Are you a glutton for punishment? Do I have to take you away again like the time you almost messed up my mission?" Kankuro said, smirking.

"You're seriously trying to make jokes right now?" She said with an air of disappointment. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"

"It's none of your business. What are you even doing around here anyway?" Kankuro snapped angrily. "It's late, don't you have something else better to do besides taking walks and eavesdropping at this time of night? Get out of here. You shouldn't get yourself involved in this." He said defensively in an attempt to hide the hurt at hearing her disappointment in him.

"You can't even look at me..." Mimi said. "...You wouldn't really do that to your brother, would you?"

"What do you care?" He mumbled.

"...Kankuro...why?"

"You just don't get it, do you? I already said I was tired of being stuck in the shadow. I'm taking an opportunity I won't turn down. Gaara's nothing but a monster. He was chosen as the Kazekage solely out of desperation. We didn't have a choice back then. And now it's about time people give me some credit around here. I'm finally gonna take over this village and show everyone who's boss." He lied.

Mimi stared at him, taken aback at what he just said. She would have never thought he would plan on committing a crime at this proportion, especially over something as ridiculous as delusions of grandeur and envy. She reserved that type of thinking for stupid or crazy people, not Kankuro. Yeah, he was pretentious, but he didn't even sound like himself.

"That's insane. Do you know how deranged you sound? I don't believe you." Mimi said. "I can't believe you just said that about your own brother!"

"Well believe it." He replied, taking out a two way radio. "I'm about to receive a message so I can finish this off."

Mimi shook her head. "No you're not. Why would you tell me about it then?"

"What are you gonna do? By the time you notify someone, it'll be too late. They wouldn't believe you, and they'll kick you out for lying and label you as a conspiracy nut." He said, walking closer to her. He had to get her on his side at least until this whole thing was over. "You don't have the heart to turn me in anyway, do you?"

"I-I would." She stammered, trying to ignore her body reacting to him inching closer. She can't afford to give in to him now after all the horrid things he just said. But when he looked at her that way, it was hard to say no to him. No, she couldn't give in to this game he was playing as if her emotions were some kind of sport. He was just doing this so she could stay quiet, but she can't fall for it.

"Don't lie to me..." He murmured, kissing her before she tried to deny it. "I'll let you stay by my side when the village is finally mine."

As much as her mind was telling her to push him away, she felt like melting into him. What was wrong with her? Why would she want this after everything he just said? Maybe she was in denial, but she didn't want to believe that he really thought those things. He couldn't even look her with a straight face saying all of that stuff. But this was their game. He was always toying with her, saying one thing and doing the other. But as much as she cared for him, she wasn't about to let herself get swindled. She turned her head, shoving him away angrily.

"You think doing that is going to fix this? You disgust me!" Mimi said, backing away from him.

"Mimi, don't go..." He said, trying to take her hand.

"Don't touch me!" She said, pulling her hand away. She felt so confused. She didn't even know how to take this...her feelings for him couldn't just change, but it was times like this when she wished she could just turn them off, because as twisted as it sounded, she still wanted to stay by his side. But she wouldn't support this. There had to be a way that she could convince him not to do it. Taking such a path, he would lose himself...she couldn't let that happen. Even if she would get kicked out the village for lying, she'll risk it for him. But would he let her just walk away after getting ahold of this information?

Kankuro didn't want his plan to end up like this. He wasn't prepared for her to find out at all since this wasn't for civilians to know, and he already felt bad for lying. It hurt him to see her looking at him like he was some type of monster. He couldn't blame her, though. He was pretending to be one for the sake of the village, but she didn't know that. He felt his insides twist with guilt as her eyes glared at him with repulsion, and he couldn't take it. Even though he shouldn't say anything, he couldn't bare to see her leave him as she started to back away. If she left now, she might not ever want to speak to him again and that would be worse than any fate that was to come. He immediately took her hand, unable to fathom that happening.

"You're right, I didn't mean any of it. But I can't...Mimi...can you just trust me?" Kankuro said, finally looking at her.

Mimi looked into his eyes, wondering what he could possibly be doing this for. Mimi shook her head, but it wasn't because she didn't trust him on his reasons for taking over the village. She was just concerned about the outcome. "I don't know why you're doing this, but I don't think you should go through with it. What you're planning to do is a serious crime...there has to be something else you can do..."

"There isn't..." He said uncomfortably. Then he thought of something. If his plan didn't work, he can flee. He'll become a missing nin, but at least he wouldn't be locked away for the majority of his life. "You can run away with me if this doesn't work out."

"W-what? No-"

"It's the only way we can be together. I wouldn't want you to wait for me if I get arrested. Promise you'll run away with me."

As crazy as the proposition sounded, the thought of being on the run with Kankuro was thrilling, and she nodded instinctively. The feeling was mutual; she heard a shred of excitement in his voice when he said it. And she knew that no matter what, she would be happy as long as she was with him. But the idea was still reckless.

"What about your brother and sister?"

"I'll still find a way to see them."

"So they know about what you're doing, then." Mimi concluded.

Before she could get a reply, someone spoke through the two way radio.

"...You already know too much," Kankuro said. "I have things to take care of. I'll see you around."

"Kankuro, I-" Mimi began to say, but he already left. She sighed. It was going to take her some time to get used to shinobi speeding off like that.

* * *

"They've already taken their positions, Tojuro-sama." Maizuru said. "Everything has been recorded."

Tojuro smiled. Everything was falling into place. The village will soon be under his demand.

"Good. With the evidence, there's no way he'll be able to get away with this. And you can become the new Kazekage after we get rid of Kankuro now that the current Kazekage is taken care of. I will finally have the village to myself now that you will be working for me. Good work..." Tojuro said, trailing off. There was something that looked different about Maizuru. Stepping closer, he noticed something odd. He was completely still, as if he froze in time. Tojuro stepped back in surprise when he saw Maizuru fall to pieces on the ground.

"No, it can't be!" Tojuro said, looking around. In a dark corner, he saw a familiar shinobi clad in black. "He was a puppet the whole time...that means..."

"You've been caught." Kankuro said smugly.

"But that's impossible! There's a recording of you attempting to take over the village!"

"It's fake." Kankuro said. "That was done to get you to confess what you did. You're under arrest."

Tojuro stood shocked, ultimately surrendering to his failure, his plans ruined over something as simple as technological advancement. With the new relations to other nations happening soon, he expected to see Suna change drastically over the next couple of years. He came to the realization that he had been trying to hold on to something that was already gone, the times of the past already having been hanging on a string for some time now, his body gone with it, as he was unable to fight back. How he wished he was young again. "Times are definitely changing...the era of the old ways are disappearing soon. But mark my words, you will regret doing this. You think relations with this new nation will bring an industrial and progressive era? You're wrong. All this will bring is more problems that we don't need. People are corrupt. They will never intend to serve in your best interests. You young people are naïve, and you won't remember my words until the little resources we have left are zapped from war."

"Funny, because it's your lack of faith in us that got us in this whole situation. I think it's your time to sit down, old man. I could see right through you from the start." Kankuro said before taking him away.

* * *

"What a night," Kankuro said to Gaara, yawning, having already informed him of the arrest of Tojuro and any other elders that had been involved. Gaara had told him that the people who had been sent to try and hurt him were taken care of and eliminated.

"Hopefully this will open up a new door of positivity for Suna. Things have been at unrest for a while now." Gaara said.

"It doesn't surprise me. There's always something going on around here. Never thought I'd ever see snow in this place, though."

"I would have anticipated Suna freezing over before what some of the members of the Suna Council tried to pull this time. A marriage...I presume they attempted to take advantage of my inexperience."

"...I don't think this is going to be the last time you're going to be hearing of this." Kankuro said, considering all the women who would be more than willing to take the place as his wife.

"I suppose." Gaara said after a moment of silence. "The same goes for you."

"Psh, right." Kankuro said in disbelief. "And what happened with your lady friend?" He teased.

"She...eloped. But that is confidential, for safety reasons."

"You mean she wanted to marry someone else? Tojuro must have known that was going to happen. He was the one who found the wife for you, didn't he?"

Gaara nodded. "He must have planned this from the start."

"Well, he's taken care of. He shouldn't be causing any more trouble." Kankuro said, sighing, unperturbed. "I'm tired. I'm gonna go get some sleep. You should, too."

Gaara looked ahead after Kankuro left him to his own thoughts. He doubted he was going to get much sleep. He had something else running through his mind, or someone. He was filled with...uncertainty. He was glad that he didn't share the information with Matsuri about the possibility of him getting married. Quite frankly, he didn't have the courage to tell her then and there when he decided to end their relationship. If he would have gone through with it, she would have found out eventually, but his instincts turned out to work in his favor, since this whole thing felt like a red herring, and thankfully she wouldn't have to find out about this. But what was he to do when she returned? She surely wouldn't want to be involved with him after what happened. And it was unsettling for him to ask for her back after an agreement to find another wife somewhere. No matter how it was put, he was being dishonest with Matsuri for not sharing that information with her, and he felt undeserving of trying things once again. If he chose to continue things with her, he had to tell her the real reason why he ended things...and he wasn't ready for that. He wasn't even sure if she would be willing to give him another chance. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't...should he even try?

Gaara headed to his office to search through his files to find out the specific location Matsuri was sent off to, and the estimated time of her return. He needed to know how long he had to decide whether to rebuild what was broken or leave it as is.

* * *

Mimi stood awake with a dim lamp nearby, unable to sleep. Rubi hadn't returned yet, and she was in her home alone. She didn't know if it was the gnawing anxiety from what happened earlier, but the quiet that was surrounding her was eerie. After what she witnessed, she couldn't get him off her mind, and was thinking about where he could possibly be right now. Did he get in trouble? Was he leaving right now? He said he would take her with him, but if he had to leave without her, she would understand...and she would wait for him.

Sighing, Mimi looked out the window, admiring the moon that was shining humbly in the night sky. As she lowered her eyes to view the village below her, she saw someone walking in the distance, the figure getting clearer as they came closer. She could recognize him from a mile away...

Rushing outside and ignoring the cold, Mimi sighed in relief to see that he was okay. At least he didn't seem hurt physically. She felt her heart race as he approached her. Did everything turn out alright? Mentally, she prepared herself for the worst, but she still felt a flutter of nervousness in her gut after she heard what he told her after he took her hand.

"Come with me," he said, his tone serious.

That didn't sound like good news. Did she have to get ready to leave the village? She had no idea where he was taking her, and concluded that whatever was happening, she felt totally unprepared.

**A/N: More to come! Sorry I took so long to update. **


	16. Preparations

**A/N: What's up? I'm just here, moving the story along... **

"Kankuro, where are we going?" Mimi asked once again after noticing that it didn't seem like he was rushing to leave the village anytime soon. It looked like he was leading her to his place.

"Shhh," he said after they entered his home, closing the door behind him.

"But-"

"Don't worry about that," he said, kissing her.

Mimi didn't realize how much she longed for this alone time again, gasping lightly when his lips traced her neck.

"Kankuro, wait..."

"What is it?" He said between kisses.

"Is everything alright?"

"You always suck the fun out of everything," Kankuro joked. "Stop worrying so much."

"For good reason," Mimi said. "How can you expect me not to worry? I don't want anything bad happening to you."

Kankuro stroked her cheek gently. "Nothing bad's going to happen to me. Let's forget about that for now..." he murmured, putting one of his arms around her, feeling a sense of freedom and comfort. "I missed this."

Mimi slowly wrapped her hands behind his neck, smiling softly. She wished she could have time with him like this more often. She missed his company, when it was just her and him. But her eyes blinked uncomfortably in ambivalence, which didn't go unnoticed. She couldn't help but think about the reason why he brought her here. Were her postulations right? Did she repeat the same mistake again? Apart of her felt like they weren't on the same page with each other, and she didn't want to run the risk of looking foolish.

"I told you not to worry so much," Kankuro said, seeing the look on her face.

"No...it's not that..." Mimi started to say.

"Then what's wrong?"

"...What do you miss, exactly?" Mimi asked.

The question threw Kankuro off for a moment. What did she mean by that?

"I missed being with you." He said matter-of-factly. Why would she ask a question with such an obvious answer?

"Being with me how?" Mimi asked. "Why did you bring me here?"

"What are you getting at?"

"What other reason would there be for you bringing me to your place at this time of night?" She said dubiously. "You could have just seen me another day if everything is fine."

"Ah," Kankuro said, understanding what she was implying.

"I don't see what's so funny," Mimi said seriously after seeing he had a smirk on his face.

"Mimi, I didn't bring you here for that. I-I missed spending time with you." he said.

Mimi eyed him skeptically. It was unlike him to stutter. She wanted to believe him...but what was the likelihood of that? He could have just pulled those words off the top of his head. It's not the first time she's been lied to in this way. This game with him was fun at first, but she was already getting tired of it. She was in too deep by now, though, and the thought of letting him go was not an option.

"I'm serious," he said, picking up on her uncertainty. "Really, I'm exhausted right now. All I want to do is sleep. But...as tired as I am, I want you by my side, at least for tonight. ...I don't know when's the next time we'll have an opportunity to be together like this..." _What the hell am I saying? _Kankuro thought. A part of him wished he could take the last part of what he said back. Temari was right when she would say he was reckless. But he was always one to speak his mind with little regret of what he said. Why should this be any different? Maybe bringing her here was just a huge mistake.

"Soon," Mimi blurted out, not wanting to think about her being away from him at this moment. "I'll make time to see you, I promise," she said assuredly, staring at the guy that she couldn't get enough of. _I would do anything for you._

The look that Mimi was giving him made him get a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that he wasn't really familiar with. It made him uneasy, and he stiffened.

"What's wrong?" Mimi asked. It worried her when he wore that stern, cold expression. But he shrugged her off when she attempted to console him, and she was left feeling clueless. It was always like this. One minute they would be all over each other and the next minute he would just brush her off like nothing happened.

"I'm...gonna go...take a shower. I had a really long day." Kankuro told her before walking off.

Mimi couldn't believe he just did that. He didn't even try to hide that he just pulled the first thought that came to his head to get away from her. She didn't know whether to feel hurt or angry. He basically dragged her all the way over to his place to supposedly spend more time with her and now he was just walking off. What was his problem? It was getting to the point where she was just giving up trying to question his contradictory actions. Maybe he was right. Did she worry too much? Well, if that was the case, then she'll take his advice for once and go with the flow of things instead of questioning everything. He wanted to play games? Well, so can she.

Kankuro let the water rush down his face, not knowing what to think. He was confused, and a bit disappointed with himself. But he just didn't know what was up with him. The way she was looking at him...it wasn't something he was used to. No one ever gave him that look and he wasn't really sure what it meant. It made him feel different and he didn't know how to react. But he couldn't stay in the shower for the rest of the night. He just hoped by the time he got out it would just be forgotten.

His presumptions were soon proven wrong as he heard low shuffling noises near the shower. Before he could wonder what she was doing, he felt small arms wrap around his waist from behind. He wasn't sure why he was trying to push her away when all he wanted right now was to be around her. But he felt so uneasy. It was like he didn't even know himself...he knew it was probably best he push her away. Being realistic, she would just end up getting hurt the longer she stuck around him; he's a shinobi and that's guaranteed a life of danger, a life she should have known nothing about. He was selfish for continuing this, but he didn't want to stop. Was he being a complete asshole for that? Most definitely, but he already knew he was an asshole. That didn't mean she deserved it...he didn't want to look her in the face. He was afraid she would see right through him...his fear, his self-doubt. He was so unsure what to do with her, even himself. He didn't want to admit that he had no control of the game he started. He never lost the games he played with women, but this time, he wasn't sure if he was winning, or if he even wanted to win. She was captivating, and charming in her own way. The difference this time is that she knew what he was doing...why would she still stick around? Why would she even bother with him?

"Why're you being so persistent..." Kankuro asked, turning around to face her, eyeing her naked body leaning against his.

"I thought a shower was actually a pretty good idea," Mimi said to him. His paint was almost cleaned from his face, minus some faded streaks. She loved looking at him like this, and not only because his toned body was nice to see. It was because she got to see him behind the disguise he puts up for everyone around him. He was gorgeous, and a part of her felt so small and insignificant next to him. But it was only for a fleeting second as those feelings faded away as she looked directly into his eyes.

It felt like they were gazing into each other's eyes for eternity, when it was probably just a moment. But for that moment, all insecurities and uncertainties were thrown out the window as they stood under the water vulnerable and naked wrapped in each other's arms. Even if they've seen each other like this before, this time it was different. This time, she wasn't looking at him with lust, and he didn't seem to be either. It felt pure...it felt natural. For that moment, Mimi felt like they were one, as if something merged between them, and she wanted to just melt into him and forget all the commotion that seemed like such a long time ago.

Kankuro couldn't put what was going on with him in words. It was just...odd...weird. But a good weird. There was no judgments, no criticism. Just her looking at him in a way that made him want the whole universe to just be him and her, if only for a moment. It made him want to kiss her, and he did, but this time he did gently. He got that fuzzy feeling again, and he pulled back, looking at Mimi questionably.

"...what?" Mimi asked, disheartened to end their kiss. Everything about it felt so right...and he tasted so alluring. But she couldn't help but find that look he was giving her so cute.

"...What are you doing to me..." he said lowly, almost as if he was asking himself more than her. It got him thinking why he was even compelled to bring her here. Why did he want to spend time with her? What was all of this about? He didn't even know what he was doing.

"I could say the same thing to you." Mimi answered breathlessly.

And that's when Kankuro realized whatever he was feeling, she was feeling it too. It didn't matter what all this was. He was just glad he wasn't the only one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Mimi was caught in what seemed like a semi-permanent daydream as she was doing her work, thinking about what she could judge as one of the best nights of her life. Well, she may be exaggerating a bit, but that's what it felt like. Mimi thought about the time she spent with Kankuro last night as she woke up nestled in his arms. Thoughts of last night came rushing to her head...she loved the way he looked when the water ran down his bare body, the water taming his messy hair as he wrapped his strong arms around her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear...it felt so romantic. Last night wasn't a night of lustful passion like the others they had. As amazing as those nights were, this was one that she wished could have lasted forever, and they didn't even have sex. But during that morning reality hit and she realized she had to go to work soon and lacked a change of clothing. She resorted to looking through Kankuro's clothes for something temporary before getting something better before going to work, rummaging through an array of similar black robes, shirts, pants, and hats, with very few other dark colors. He had scoffed about her suggestion for a bit more variety in his wardrobe, exclaiming the convenience of dark colors for what he does everyday. It made her smile thinking of his reaction to her suggestions, knowing that he would never follow through with them, being too stubborn and comfortable in his own ways. But that was okay. She liked him just the way he was, as unconventional as he could be. It's what made him...him. And it was the thoughts of him that made the day seem to phase by. As difficult as he seemed to other people, ever since she's met him he's made her life seem so much easier to handle. She knew that no one else would believe that, especially among the circumstances in how they met and all the different experiences she's been through ever since meeting him, but it felt worth it.

As her long day came to an end, she felt a hint of melancholy despite her tranquility since her thoughts of Kankuro reminded her that she was unsure when she would have more time with him again. She kept a promise. She will do anything to see him. These thoughts were short lived when she heard someone call her a short distance behind her and she turned around to see Kankuro standing with Rojikku and Kanjo. She felt giddy on the inside. This time, fate did the work for her.

"Hey, long time no see, Mimi," Kanjo said happily, thinking that her smile was directed toward him, not noticing her slightly eyeing Kankuro.

"Hi, how have you been?" Mimi said, resisting the urge to go straight to Kankuro and run into his arms. Her logical side quickly reminded her doing that would be idiotic given the moment's circumstances.

"Good, good, I've just been-"

"Kanjo, we were in the middle of an important conversation. Can't you save this reunion for later?" Rojikku said plainly. "No offense Mimi. Kankuro had some important information to relay to us."

"No offense taken, I'll see you guys another time," Mimi said, turning to walk away before Kanjo comfortably put his arm around her as if they've been friends for years.

"We should all hang out later, like old times. You know, the three of us can pick up some chicks, and you can...do what you do," Kanjo said, not really thinking his sentence through.

"Get off of her," Kankuro said sternly.

"Sheesh, what's your prob-"

"You know when you told me to let you know when you're sounding like an idiot? Now's that time." Kankuro interjected. The way Kanjo acted was borderline cringe worthy.

"You never told me that..." Kanjo said, trying to refresh his memory.

"Well now I am. That's a stupid idea. Can we get back to what we were talking about?" Kankuro said impatiently.

"I don't know why you're calling me an idiot. You didn't think that idea was so stupid the other night when you left with that blonde chick." Kanjo teased.

"What are you talking about?" Kankuro said angrily.

"You mean you don't remember? It was before you left on that mission you just came from with the younger shinobi!"

_Before he left on that mission with the younger shinobi? _Mimi thought, recalling the events she encountered last night. Wait a second, that meant...

"Oh, really?" Mimi said with a hint of anger in her voice, being very well aware of the mission Kanjo had been referring to.

"Yeah, totally!" Kanjo said, not picking up on the newfound tension in the air. "Figures you don't remember I had come later that night, you were already pretty fucked up by the time I got there-" Kanjo started to say to Kankuro.

"So Kankuro, what was it that the Kazekage told you again?" Rojikku said quickly, picking up on the subtleties and trying to diffuse the situation that Kanjo unintentionally-and stupidly-flared up. Though he now understood that Mimi wasn't really that bad at applying makeup. "New lipstick" alright...but the damage had already been done, seeing the now nervous look on Kankuro's face that he rarely sees, and the scowl Mimi was giving Kankuro.

Kankuro didn't know what to say as he was reminded of that night that completely slipped his mind after all the issues in Suna that had recently popped up and occupied the majority of his time. Great, just great, how the hell was he going to explain that? Talk about really bad timing. Just his luck.

Mimi should have known from the beginning that this was bound to happen. Of course that's all this was to him, just some big game. She had to admit to herself that of all the guys she's been with, he was the best at it. None of them have ever gotten this far...to tell her all those lies, to lead her on the way he did. Making her feel like she was the only one he cared about, the only one he had his eyes on...especially after last night. He was a great actor.

She felt a lump growing in her chest and she turned to walk away. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. He had already won and that should be good enough for him.

"Mimi, wait-" Kankuro said, attempting to take her arm as she was about to run off, but she shoved him away as hard as she was able to. He felt a firm hand on his shoulder before he even thought of going after her.

"Not now," Rojikku said calmly, a concerned but serious expression on his face.

"You're right..." Kankuro said, realizing that as much as he wanted to explain himself, he had other things to address at the moment...it was best he let her go. He didn't even know what to say...would she even listen? Frustrated, he glared at Kanjo. This dumbass ruins _everything_.

There was just one thing he wanted to get out of his system right now, though. He _never_ liked this guy. This time Kanjo's daftness just crossed the line, and he was sick of his shit. Before anyone could foresee it, Kankuro punched Kanjo square in the face, Kanjo tumbling backwards, his nose bleeding. He's been wanting to do that to him for ages, and it felt so good to finally let it out.

"What the _fuck_, man!" Kanjo said angrily, getting up quickly, holding his nose with one hand. "What was that for?!"

"For being a fucking moron!" Kankuro yelled angrily. "I hope I punched some brains into you, you piece of shit!"

"Bring it, then!" Kanjo yelled back.

Kankuro would have gladly taken that offer had Rojikku not gotten in between the both of them, restraining Kankuro from trying to hit him.

"Stop, it's not worth it," Rojikku said. "Let's go. I'll tell Kanjo what went on with the Kazekage later."

"Your friend is a jackass." Kankuro added.

"Fuck you!" Kanjo said irately to Kankuro.

"Kanjo, go. Stop instigating." Rojikku said seriously.

"Psh...what an asshole..." Kanjo muttered, walking away, still holding his nose.

Kankuro didn't show it, but he was devastated. Deep down he knew he messed up, and she probably won't want to speak to him again after that. Did this mean it wasn't meant to be? Probably...maybe it was best this way. Maybe it'll keep her away from all the trouble he's caused her ever since they've met. But he remembered that upcoming mission to the Land of Snow. The thought of that made his stomach turn. It's not set in stone that he would be the one leaving on that mission, but it's a possibility. He couldn't face her after that moron just blew his spot like that. He had to talk to Gaara about this later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I hope I've explained everything you needed to know," Gaara said to Shijima, who's family had been the victim of Tojuro's manipulation.

Shijima nodded. "I am glad that my sister will now be safe. I wish there was more I could do to express my gratitude to you, but...I feel I don't know you well enough to do something that would truly express my appreciation."

"Your loyalty to the village is enough. I don't want you to feel as if you need to do any more than that. You will get to know me as we continue to work together in the future."

Shijima looked away, flushed. "Y-yes, of course..."

Shijima hoped that the Kazekage didn't misinterpret her wanting to get to know him more as anything more than that. She doubted he would have looked into it that deeply, though. There was something about him that she found intriguing. There was a mysterious air to him, and it made a small part of her curious, inquisitive. Her contemplation caused an uncomfortable awkward silence, but as she was shuffling her feet in the sand attempting to bring up something else to break the tension, Gaara stood still, seemingly comfortable in the silence that was building between them. The awkwardness was definitely one sided. He didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Hey Gaara, there you are. Can I speak to you about something?" Kankuro asked, spotting him near the entrance of the Kazekage's building.

Gaara nodded, and Shijima took this as her cue to be off.

"You know that mission to the Land of Snow-"

"Whatever the question is, it's no." Gaara stated bluntly, walking toward the inside of the building. Kankuro was starting to make him hate hearing the name of that country.

"Can you at least let me explain?" Kankuro said, quickly following behind.

"I don't want to hear it. I don't care what problems you have with that woman, you'd better solve them before you're due to leave or deal with it." He said, annoyed, already tired of discussing the same mission with Kankuro that hasn't even happened yet.

"Wait, so you're planning on sending me?" Kankuro said nervously. No, no, no, this can't be happening.

"Yes." Gaara said. "I hope you don't mean to tell me that doing so will be a problem."

"Look, I think it's best if you just have her go with someone else, even Yukata-"

"What? Absolutely not." Gaara said quickly, concluding the conversation. "Weren't you saying the complete opposite the other day? I refuse to keep rescheduling assignments for you as if it's easy to do. We're already stretched thin as it is, and this is the second time you've attempted to change your mind about this. Don't attempt to bargain with me again."

"Alright, alright, don't be a douche about it." Kankuro said dejectedly.

"I'm not. I had decided that I would actually prefer you to go on this mission, because I want relations with this land to start off well. It is important in that it could be the start of very rapid industrialization for Suna if everything goes as planned."

Kankuro scowled angrily. "Just my luck..."

"This isn't your luck. You put all of this upon yourself. You told me there was nothing going on between the both of you when you brought her here, and I trusted that, even when all the chaos that has ensued in this village resulted from you bringing her here." Gaara said unsympathetically. "I'm stuck trying to pick up the mess you made and making the best out of the situation by mending relations with this village. Taking part is the least you could do."

"Don't start with that again," Kankuro said angrily. "I don't know why you have a problem with her when all the crap that happened here had nothing to do with her! It was because you sent me on a mission to get that stupid scroll. Something would have happened whether she had been here or not so stop talking shit."

"It's not her I have a problem with. It's your constant reckless decision making. You think taking someone from another village as a hostage had no effect on the relations we have with this village at all?"

"You mean after I robbed their bank?" Kankuro said sarcastically.

"That was understood to be part of a mission request and that had been repealed since the proper paperwork was presented as evidence of that. No matter the circumstances, involving a villager in a mission that wasn't assigned for them to be involved, especially in this type of mission, is heavily frowned upon, and you know this. So I will leave fixing that part of the matter up to you, because no matter how much you think you've been a hero, that woman is wanted back at her village and there is nothing you can do about that."

"You're no better," Kankuro snapped. "What about you being Mr. Hero to that girl with the glasses that just left? How do you know to trust her?"

"That is a completely different situation and you know that. She was a victim of the conspiracy just like all of us."

"You're forgetting that other little detail you didn't want me to share with everyone else. You know, how she was experimented on by Orochimaru? That's less of a reason to trust her. How do you know she was really a victim? You should be the last one criticizing me when you want to be captain save-a-h-"

"Your mouth is as reckless as your decision making," Gaara interrupted irritably. "Unlike you, I took all the measures to ensure that the situation doesn't grow out of proportion."

"Yeah, okay. We'll see how Matsuri feels about her new replacement when she comes back." Kankuro commented. "I saw the way you were looking at her."

"I can't believe you're seriously being so petty as to make those types of assumptions. I'm done trying to reason with you about this nonissue if you're going to jump to immature conclusions."

"Immature conclusions? You think that now, but I'm not stupid, Gaara. You think you've got that situation under control, but you barely know her and you've already given her a lot of leeway. You may outsmart me in a lot of things, but not when it comes to this. I guarantee this is going to backfire on you, and I'm not going to say I told you so when it blows up in your face." Kankuro said before walking away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto huddled himself in the coat that he wore as the crisp air cooled him, summer now coming to an end. Back up at the Land of Snow, he could tell that the summer was ending, the temperatures even lower than when he had been here the last time. With some of the members of the Shirogane clan accompanying him with Lord Orochimaru this time, he was able to obtain one of the puppets that they initially agreed to give to him to take out the loan that he needed from that loan officer named Yujiro. In due time, the spirit orb will be able to be obtained. But that was the least of his concerns. Yujiro had agreed to meet with him today in his office to finalize their deal, and he was walking there alone now, stopping for a moment to put the puppet down and rub his hands to keep them warm. But there were footsteps behind him, crunching the steep snow, and he internally got himself ready for a possible fight, his senses heightened.

"Have you planned how you're going to get this done after you accept this loan?"

Kabuto turned around to see none other than Lord Orochimaru standing a short distance behind him.

"Of course. You shouldn't expect much less of me," Kabuto said. "Have you really lost that much faith after one slip up?"

Orochimaru eyed him, interested in how he was going to be able to pull this off. The concern, of course, wasn't getting the hospital built. It was attracting the right type of clients. "Normally, I wouldn't let financial problems get in the way of my plans, but it's best if we act natural and keep a low profile. It'll make the villagers more...compliant, and ease any suspicions the Queen and the elders may have."

"That won't be a problem," Kabuto said casually, continuing after seeing Lord Orochimaru give him an expression that indicated him to elaborate further. "I've been having meetings with the Queen. The hospitals in this land are local, usually small and sparse. Mortality can be high, especially during the harsh winters. With this hospital, I can help target that issue, so I've decided this hospital won't be limited to a pediatric unit."

Orochimaru nodded. "I'm glad to hear you've been doing something with your time while we're waiting. What have you two been negotiating, exactly?"

"I haven't forgotten the goals of why we're here," Kabuto said. "I've been getting the information you need so we can pull this off smoothly. I'm trying to open communication with the clan farther up North to see if there are any ailments that affect this specific clan. Their longer than average lifespan indicates to me that there might not be many illnesses that can cause certain death. It is why they don't feel the need to be so interested with this new hospital that we're to open...but I feel that there's more to this than what is presented to me."

"What makes you suspect that?"

"I was able to get my hand on some files regarding the population growth over the years with this clan. Compared to the rest of the population, their population growth is significantly slower than expected, even when considering other variables. Based on what's being said about them here, they're very...selective on who they choose to continue their lineage with."

"I don't see how addressing consanguinity helps with getting what I want from them."

"I hypothesize that the relations are closer than what you're thinking."

"...Inbreeding? Between siblings?"

"Possibly. It's probably not happening all the time, but maybe becoming more common. They can only isolate their population for so long until everyone becomes interrelated in some way if it hasn't happened already. You would think they would be taking stronger measures to increase their population growth, but from the trends that I've read in the files, it's coming closer to reaching a plateau soon. It just doesn't make sense. There's something else going on that I would like to look into more. They have to be hiding something."

"What could they be hiding that would be of any use to us?" Orochimaru said, growing impatient. "Whatever they may be hiding is none of my concern."

"It will be if it affects their genes." Kabuto said. "If my thoughts are correct, undesirable recessive traits should be growing more common at this point. They've lived in isolation for a long time now. They have a kekkei genkai, but they're still human. I haven't seen any records of recessive diseases that have come up in this population. So that leaves me with one of two conclusions: either they're genetically superior, or there's a missing link with the number of births that are actually happening that they're not keeping a record of, and I'm suspecting my second conclusion."

Orochimaru snickered. "Well, well, it seems this clan might have a dirty little secret. It would be easy to blackmail them if that turns out to be true."

"It's still something I'm theorizing. I want to visit this clan to investigate further. I'm going to find a way to convince the Queen to allow me to do this when I see her tonight."

"You have the option to leave without the Queen's permission. It doesn't seem necessary. You know I don't like my time being wasted."

"I wouldn't do it this way if I didn't have to," Kabuto replied. "I don't want to risk her suspecting something if she doesn't know my whereabouts. She was disappointed with me when I returned since I left without notifying anyone when I went to Suna. The last thing we need is her tracking what we're really doing. I plan to give her a different reason why I want to investigate this population; make it look like a simple community assessment. If I just go along alone, she's going to know."

"This queen...she seems to have a fixation on you. I don't see the reason for her to request private meetings with you almost every night. You should keep a close eye on her."

Kabuto nodded. "I've already been doing that. It seems she wants to keep me as some type of personal doctor. She always thinks up some type of minor issue like a headache or her feet hurting or something of that matter. It's quite obvious she's feigning, but I haven't figured out her reasons yet."

"Well, I expect you to figure this out tonight. Not only am I getting impatient, but so is this clan. I want to get rid of them as soon as possible, and we don't need that nuisance of a queen getting in the way. Killing her off right now wouldn't be wise just yet."

"You're telling me you plan to actually uphold this deal with the clan?" Kabuto said almost sneeringly.

"Just to keep them on my side in case I need some disposable shinobi for a situation that might stop my plans...now go along. You have to meet up with that loan officer, don't you?"

Kabuto nodded, taking the puppet and walking off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto sat across Yujiro's desk, impatient as he waited for him to say something. Yujiro had a speculative look on his face, rubbing his chin inquisitively as he examined the puppet that was provided to him. His furrowed brow expressed his disappointment.

"This is certainly not what I was expecting," Yujiro said, putting the puppet down in discontentment as if it were a dead rat.

"What's wrong with it? It's one of best puppets you can come across. They're not as good as the ones that come from Suna, but it still exceeds expectations-"

"No, no, you don't get it." Yujiro said dismissively. "I don't care much for what it can do. I thought it was going to be more...aesthetically pleasing to the eye. This puppet looks haggard...cursed. No collector in their right mind would want to buy it."

"Well, what did you expect? For it to be dipped in gold and diamonds?!" Kabuto yelled angrily.

"You need to understand what you're asking of me. If you want me to forge identity papers for you to take out this loan-which I must add, isn't a small one-you're going to have to give me something better than this garbage." Yujiro said before noticing the angry look on Kabuto's face. "Look, try not to get upset. It was a miscommunication and I should have been more clear." He said, leaning closer as if someone were hearing them. "Between me and you...we all know these ninjas are just sociopathic thugs who disguise their crimes as a career to help protect us. And only that type of street scum would be interested in what this thing actually _does_. News flash, no one but those idiots give a shit. So either you get me a better looking puppet, or no deal. Only those hoodlums we call shinobi would ever waste their time on such a thing."

Kabuto grabbed Yujiro roughly by his collar angrily. He wasn't offended that this ignorant fool just unknowingly insulted his way of life. He was more angry that he was attempting to waste his time. He'd gone too far to be stumped by some greedy villager, and he wasn't going to let this coward walk all over him.

"You wanted a valuable puppet so I brought you one." Kabuto sneered, pointing a poisoned kunai in his direction. "You don't know what I'm capable of. I highly suggest you make do with what I've brought or suffer the consequences. I think I've been patient enough with you."

Kabuto disregarded the smug smirk Yujiro had plastered on his face, seeing through his façade as the imbecile gulped loudly.

"N-now, there's no need to resort to this," Yujiro said, attempting to sound casual, the slight quiver in his voice betraying him. "I-I can get you kicked out of this village and report you. We can talk about this like sensible adults...so...I think you should let me go, don't you think?"

Kabuto chuckled, almost scoffing at his failed attempt to subdue him. This guy did not know who he was messing with.

"I already have the Queen on my side. But I'll give you credit for trying." Kabuto said sarcastically. "So what's it gonna be?"

"...It doesn't seem like you're giving me much of a choice here," Yujiro said uncomfortably.

Kabuto smiled. "Good. It seems we've come to a compromise," he said before letting Yujiro go.

Kabuto couldn't help but be content with himself. He finally got the loan he needed to build this hospital. Now it was time to convince the Queen to let him up north so he can see what that clan was capable of.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto knocked on the large castle doors, waiting for a guard to answer. It was late, most of the village asleep besides the shinobi on night duty who act as guards for the queen. At this point he's become a regular so the guards don't give him too much trouble, him being unwillingly known as the queen's doctor. But this just reassured him that he was gaining their trust, and gave a polite smile as the door opened, the queen waiting for him not far from where he entered. She seemed content despite the late night chill in the drafty castle, but she was bundled in a thick cloak. She urged him to follow her, leading him into a long corridor in the previously abandoned castle. He started to feel a ball of discomfort growing in his abdomen as he noticed that they were venturing into a part of the castle that he hasn't yet seen.

"Queen Hokkyo, don't you think we're straying too far from the guards?" Kabuto asked as they walked deeper into the castle.

"Which is why I want to make this meeting quick," Queen Hokkyo said, walking into a large, fancily ordained room, and sitting in front of a vanity to brush her long hair. "And I'm with you, anyway. I couldn't feel any more safe. You're the one who traveled across dimensions to save me," she said, giving him a soft smile. "Come in."

Kabuto stood hesitantly at the door as he realized that he had been invited into her room. "With all due respect, Queen Hokkyo, I think we should have our meeting in a different area."

"Why?" Queen Hokkyo said, pouting. "I have a headache and plan to lie down soon. I just wanted some company since my dear captain has been gone for so long. Ever since he's come back he has so many...kingly duties to take care of on the other islands, and I'm left with the burden of taking care of this place on my own...and it's even more of a hassle with the elders breathing down my neck. They're still skeptical about giving me too much authority, though I can't say I fully blame them...but I slip up _one_ time and they won't let me live it down. Do you understand?"

"I do, actually." Kabuto said, remembering his most recent encounters, still feeling a bit hesitant and skeptical at the Queen's behavior. Kabuto fought the urge to refuse her request, telling himself that it was best to keep her on her good side, and was probably best not to argue with her. The whole plan would simply work out better if she would stay docile and cooperative. "...As you wish." Kabuto said, walking awkwardly into her room as she continued to brush her long, platinum hair, her light purple eyes watching him through the reflection.

"The good thing about my whole ordeal getting involved with all that magic is that I've kept my youth after all these years. I haven't aged one bit. For that, I'm thankful," The queen finally said after a moment of silence.

Kabuto nodded, keeping what she just said in the back of his mind to inform to Lord Orochimaru. Kabuto doubted there were any remnants of that type of magic left after closing off contact with the other dimension permanently, but it could be used as another option for immortality. After all, he himself still remained with a connection to the other dimension, as much as he wanted nothing to do with it.

"What do you think, Kabuto?" Queen Hokkyo said, walking toward him, removing the long, heavy cloak she had on to keep warm from the drafty corridors of the castle. There was no need for it in her room though, since it was kept warm. "Don't you agree?"

Kabuto gulped as he felt the distance closing between them, unsure of how to answer that question. He wasn't even fully sure of what she was asking of him, but he grew nervous as he noticed the look of disappointment on the queen's face due to his silence.

"Don't you think I'm beautiful?" She asked, this time more directly.

Kabuto looked away uncomfortably, the unease that he felt in his stomach now rising to his throat. Glancing at the queen again as if to confirm a final answer, he found himself unable to speak. Looking at her, yes, he did find her quite pretty, but it was her kindness that made her beautiful. Thinking of her counterpart from that dark world proved it, for he found her repulsive even though they shared the same face despite the other queen's blue tint. Even then, he didn't see why any of this was relevant. This whole thing just felt wrong, and not in the way that made him feel powerful. He needed to think of an excuse to get himself out of here. He started to back himself away towards the door.

"You know, Kabuto, when you left, I couldn't stop thinking about you," Queen Hokkyo said, quickly grabbing his hand, pulling him back toward her and closing the door. The silence in the room was heavy, but she traced her fingers over his scars softly. "What happened to you after you left..."

In a normal situation, Kabuto would have been able to think up a fair answer, but for some reason, in this moment, he didn't really know how to reply. She wasn't giving signals as if she really wanted to know, or really cared. This didn't feel like any other interrogation he's gotten himself into. It's not often he's felt totally unprepared for something.

"You're pretty bold, not answering to royalty when asked." She said firmly, but still with a kind look on her face. She was hard to read. Was she upset at his silence or not? He had to say something...

"I had some personal matters to take care of-" He started to say before she gently put a finger on his lips.

"There's no need to explain," The queen said affectionately. "I'm just glad you're back."

By now, her body was pressed up against his, and he hadn't realized that she had already backed him to the wall. "Please don't leave again..."

Kabuto could barely decipher what the hell was going on as he felt her kissing him unexpectedly. He gently pushed her away, speechless, a dumbfounded expression plastered across his face.

"Do you hear someone coming by to look for us?" The Queen asked, attempting to get close to him again but he quickly evaded her advances.

Kabuto was so confused it took him a quick second to organize all the thoughts that just came tumbling into his mind. Did she seriously just ask him that like what she did was completely normal? What was this woman's problem? What the hell just happened...why...and...she's _married._ And she's the queen. If anyone found out about this, any plans that he had would come crashing to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Queen Hokkyo asked, trying to get closer to him as he quickly avoided her.

"Y-you got married to the captain after he returned-" he said, backing up to feel the bed behind him.

"So?" The Queen said, pushing him on the bed. "After I got married, I realized that the love I have for him...has no spark. As a king, he has to preoccupy himself with the needs of our land first, and he's left me here alone as he finds ways to improve connections with the other islands. I thought I still had the same feelings from before I was locked away...but too much time has passed. It's not the same. As I've been tending to the needs of my land...I've had my eyes on someone else." She said, smirking slyly, slowly placing herself on top of him. "Stong, smart, brave, handsome, a gentleman, and someone I could trust...what more could I ask for?"

Kabuto quickly escaped from the bed, eyeing her as if she was crazy.

"Oooh, you're fast. But I wouldn't expect any less from such a great shinobi." The Queen said playfully. "There's no need to play so hard to get, unless that's what you want-"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could someone seriously be so incredibly naïve? Where was this woman's common sense? Even an idiot would know how incredibly stupid this whole thing was. What was he going to say to her? It would probably upset her if he just outright rejected her. He wanted to curse himself for getting himself in this situation. How was he going to get to that village up north now?

"Q-Queen Hokkyo...I think...we should save this for another time." Kabuto blurted out, scrambling for words in his head on what to say next in the most coherent manner. "I need some time to think this through. I had no idea you felt this way."

The Queen giggled lowly. "Okay, I'll go along with your game, but don't keep me waiting for long. I don't want to regret letting you call the shots."

Kabuto instantly turned his head toward the door as he heard footsteps in the distance. They were coming to check up on the queen. He was thankful, more than eager to leave this as it was. Queen Hokkyo quickly put on her thick cloak to cover her scantily clad attire, Kabuto leaving quickly after he exited the room.

Walking back out in the icy weather, he realized everything that had just happened distracted him from what he was really supposed to be there for. He completely forgot to tell the queen he planned to go farther up north to see that clan with the kekkei genkai. He had to find a way to get up there, soon. How was he going to explain this to Lord Orochimaru?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Standing in an icy cavern in the peaks of this island in the Land of Snow, Kabuto and the clan members waited in their chosen hideout, isolated from any form of civilization for miles. It was cold and desolate, and he huddled in his large, hooded cloak, keeping his eye on the expressions of Dami and the rest of his inferiors. He could tell they were tired of waiting. He couldn't blame them, so was he. He was disappointed in himself since he was sure he prolonged the process of getting things done. He still wasn't sure what to say, or what story to come up with as to why everything is taking so long. One good thing that came out of this was that he got the loan needed to get the hospital started. About the other events that occurred...well, he still wasn't sure what to say about that. Hopefully he wouldn't have to mention it.

"So, what's been going on?" Dami finally voiced in the eerie, cold silence after Lord Orochimaru arrived. His voice boomed loudly compared to the quiet that surrounded them, as if any sound above a whisper can cause an avalanche. "Any luck with that weasel of a loan officer?"

"Fortunately, yes. He'd been quite a nuisance, but I handled the situation and he shouldn't be giving any of us a run-around anymore. I had to resort to more forceful measures." Kabuto said. "While the hospital is being built, I want to focus on getting more information about the clan up north."

"What about our spirit orb? We're not gonna work for you if you don't update us on that."

"There's no need to worry. I've already got that handled." Orochimaru said.

"You're saying that you have it already?" One of the other Shirogane shinobi asked.

"I know of its location. Obtaining it won't be a problem for me...but that'll have to wait until I get what I need out of this." The sannin replied.

"Well let's hope Kabuto finally got this whole thing started. I'm starting to think you guys are bailing out on us." Dami said with a hint of skepticism.

"If you want us to get this done right, then you have to bare with us. We don't have the time for any mistakes due to rashness and impulsivity. Be lucky we're even helping you." Orochimaru said.

"So I guess this meeting is over, then." Kabuto said.

"Not quite." Orochimaru said. "There's one more thing we need to discuss among all of us. None of this would work if we run the risk of getting caught."

"What are you on about?" Another Shirogane clan member asked, wanting to get to the point.

"The queen has been requesting meetings with Kabuto. Did you find out her reasons? Has she grown suspicious?"

"Not in the least." Kabuto said quickly, but convincingly. "Everything is going as planned."

"Then did you find out her reasons for the meetings? You were supposed to figure it out." Orochimaru insisted.

"Of course I did. It's nothing to worry about." Kabuto said flippantly.

"We want details." Orochimaru said bluntly.

"I said there's no concern, and that's it." Kabuto insisted.

"Hey, we're not gonna just stand here and let you get all glib with us." Dami said. "You already fucked up once, and my clan can't afford to fuck this up again. We have the right to know the information you obtained so all this can go smoothly. So spill or I'll-"

"You'll what? You couldn't even take on that puppet master. If I wanted I could end all of you." Kabuto spat arrogantly.

"Your reaction is making you look worse." Orochimaru commented. "What is going on?"

Kabuto was hoping he could have evaded this discussion. Lord Orochimaru would know if he lied...but he had been hoping he would have been approached individually, not in front of this clan.

"Well?" Dami asked. "Cat got your tongue?"

Kabuto glanced at Lord Orochimaru, in hopes that he would get the hint that maybe it was best they discuss this individually first. But Lord Orochimaru wasn't making efforts to go along with it. Kabuto gulped. Of course he wouldn't. The point was to gain this clan's trust, not make them grow more suspicious with private discussions. But what was he going to say? The best thing at this moment was to be honest. The truth could be worse, after all.

"During our most recent meeting the queen..." Kabuto said lowly, feeling himself get flustered as he prepared to bring up the embarrassing events that happened. "...She..."

"She what?" One of the members asked, everyone's eyes on him as if he had the answers to the universe.

"She's trying to seduce me."

There was a long, flat, awkward silence that permeated through the mysterious, icy cavern that just made everything feel more uncomfortable. Lord Orochimaru broke the silence, perplexed.

"...You're not serious, are you?"

Kabuto looked down, shielding his face, the roar of laughter from the clan not helping the feeling of sheer humiliation that felt like it was pouring out of his pores from his insides. He even peeped Lord Orochimaru smirking.

"You're shitting me!" Dami said. "That's funny, but really, you have to tell us what's going on."

"I already did." Kabuto replied angrily. "This is not a laughing matter. I didn't get to speak to her about me wanting to go up north because of it."

"Wait, hold on a second, he's serious?!" One of the clan members exclaimed. "You're telling me we're over here waiting for everything to come through and he was busy shacking it up with the queen the whole time?! You gotta be fucking kidding me!"

"What type of game do you think you're playing, Kabuto?" Dami said, agreeing with his comrade.

"All of you are taking this out of context. I only found out her intentions recently. If I would have known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have engaged in her requests to see me in the first place. The woman is married to a king! This could turn out badly for us if anyone else discovers this since we're trying to lay low and keep our reputations good here. I wouldn't delay this any longer on purpose. I'm just as upset as everyone else here."

"Heh, since when has being married stopped anyone?" One of the clan members said snidely, snickering.

"Quiet. I didn't sign up for this. Her advances are completely unwanted." Kabuto snapped. He has more concerns than having meaningless relations with women, and he didn't take well to being thought of as the type to do those things.

"Great, now how are we going to get this done?" Dami said hopelessly.

If what Kabuto is saying is true, then this Queen would turn out to be a huge hindrance. She will want to know everything Kabuto is doing and simply get in the way. It would be easier to kill her off. Orochimaru even knew ways to do it without any evidence pointing in their direction. Doing so would just lead to a repeating problem afterward, however, since the village would just go to another authority figure that would once again get in their way since Kabuto's already made a significant connection with these people. What were they supposed to do...then Orochimaru had an idea that isn't as far fetched to suggest as it sounds...

"...Well, it depends on how you perceive it." Orochimaru finally said. "We can either use this to our advantage, or our disadvantage."

"What do you mean?" Kabuto asked.

"You can have her wrapped around your finger if you wanted. You just need to...play your cards right. It would be a tremendous help to have the queen on our side."

"You're talking crazy. She'll never agree to any of this!" Dami said.

"She just might if Kabuto will be willing to play along." Orochimaru said smiling evilly, turning to face him. "You have a perfect opportunity to seize the throne."

"...Are you saying...?" Kabuto said, taken aback.

"Yes. We can succeed easily if you manipulate her, maybe even get more than what we anticipated."

"The Queen doesn't hold as much political power as you think." Kabuto said. "She hasn't been here for that long for the elders to make a unanimous decision yet."

"She doesn't hold that much power right now, but her perceptions of people reflect on the village. Remember, you are a hero partaking in the evil queen's demise, and the good queen's return. Handing you the throne would turn all the power in the village to you easily, and it would be too late for anyone else to stop you by the time it happens."

"I don't think that's necessary." Kabuto said. All he wanted out of this was to live peacefully and to do good...but yet he was offered such a tempting opportunity. That queen was so naïve; she'll believe whatever he tells her...and he had the power to overtake the current king if needed and all of his shinobi. He'll finally get recognition...he'll finally be a powerful leader...and he'll finally _be_ someone.

"I know you won't turn something like this down, Kabuto. Think about it." Lord Orochimaru said lowly before disappearing into the fog.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, letting out a slight sinister grin. Here he was at a crossroads with two decisions. He could opt out of this whole thing now and choose to be righteous, or take this once in a lifetime opportunity for this island to be his, possibly getting access to all the items hidden away in this village's bank, having enough power to take over the whole land, and maybe even more.


End file.
